


Wild Wasteland

by baristadistrict



Category: Fallout (Video Games), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Marvel: Fallout AU, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Action, Alternate Universe, Angst, Death, F/M, Guns, Ooc-Fallout wise, Slow Burn, Swearing, Wordy, first fic, lots of blood
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-26
Updated: 2018-10-01
Packaged: 2019-04-28 06:36:20
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 17
Words: 27,307
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14443488
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/baristadistrict/pseuds/baristadistrict
Summary: Marvel/Fallout AU: You are employed by Bucky Barnes to be his right hand man out in the Capital Wasteland; helping him grow his gun-running business all across the Wastes. With a massive target on your back, thanks to your boss’s aggressive business tactics, you try to make it one more day in a world where death is as common as a gentle breeze.





	1. The Pen

There were four other people in the pen with you- four other people who were alive, anyway. When you were first brought here, there were over forty; herded inside the small space, packed in like sardines. You couldn’t have flexed a finger without touching someone. But then sickness set in; the pen was outside with little coverage to keep warm or cool and many succumbed to heat stroke in the summer and hypothermia in the winter.

Along with the sickness came starvation, and the beatings. To prove a point, or out of sheer boredom, the guards would pick a “lucky” dweller (usually an elder, one who wouldn’t make them much caps) and stomp them just outside the pen. Within a year the pen size had dropped by half, within another, by half again. For the last two years the deaths had been staggering with the latest one to have happened just last week. 

Most of the time the Slavers would take the bodies and burn them, but only after they couldn’t stand the stench anymore. They thought having to share a space with the dead would help keep the rest in line. That was the situation with Lorenzo.

Lorenzo’s body laid out in the middle of the pen, still in the puddle of irradiated water that served as the watering hole. Sometimes the Slavers would pass out purified water and RadAway, especially if an auction was about to start, but mostly you had to take your chance with the diseased water only taking small sips. The water had been further contaminated with Lorenzo’s blood and small chunks of bone and flesh. The area where his head once been had turned the water pitch black.

Lorenzo was a hefty man, in fact you had always wondered how he managed to keep the weight on him when everyone else was skin and bones. But as the largest, he somehow came to think of himself as the leader of The Pen; forcing a few people to give them half of their share of food, and taking up residence in the only shaded spot back in the corner where the fence and the Slaver’s bedroom quarters building met. 

He also had a mouth on him and would often call out the Slavers, not giving a damn about retaliation; that, you and the other dwellers liked. He would have made a damn good leader if he wasn’t such a greasy fuck-wad. Some of the Slavers had enough of his talk, though- they wanted him dead, planned to make him the next target. But the group’s leader, Eulogy Jones, had an interested client who was willing to pay the large cap size on Lorenzo’s bald head.

That didn’t sit well with some of the other Slavers. So last week a couple of them, Jotun and Forty, approached you near bed time with a contract. They offered you 200 caps and some purified water for the assassination of one Lorenzo Wellspring. 

“Come on boys,” you had said, “You guys are Kings sitting on top of Midas’ hill, and all you can offer me is a lousy 200 caps and a bottle of water? You can do better.”

What they didn’t need to know is that you had already planned on killing Lorenzo as an atonement for what he did to Mother Agnes.

Agnes was a saint, she was considered a mother figure to most of the dwellers; even the Slavers liked her and treated her with respect. Agnes was fiery, about 82, and what Lorenzo gave she gave right back. She made fun of him one day, about what isn’t important; but Lorenzo became so enraged he had picked up a rock and slammed it against the side of Agnes’ head. Agnes crumpled inward and fell dead, the top right of her head caved in slightly at a weird angle. The whole incident had happened so fast, no one had time to think.

The Slavers actually prepared and held a funeral for her. It was pretty sweet, from what you could see from the pen.

Forty sighed, “You think you’re pretty smart, huh kid?”  
You smirked, “If I was smart I wouldn’t be in this pen. But a job is a job and I want proper compensation, fellas. 600 caps, and two bottles of purified water for me and the other dwellers. I’ll take Lorenzo’s, too, since he won’t be needing them.”

Jotun and Forty looked at each other before accepting your terms. 

“I’m gonna need a weapon,” you said. You had dreamt of taking Lorenzo out with your bare hands, but you were also a realist who knew Lorenzo was big enough he could snap you like a twig.

Forty took a switchblade out of his pocket and slid it through the fence to you. Jotun looked around to make sure no one was watching. 

“Will that work,” Forty asked.

“A gun would be better.”

“You’re not so cute,” Jotun replied, “We ain’t gonna give you a gun, sweetheart. Make it work.”

You shrugged and took the knife from Forty and slipped it into your back pocket. 

“Had to try. When do you want this done?”

“PDQ, princess,” Forty replied shifting his rifle, “Eulogy’s got a client coming up from Goodneighbor within the next two days who’s interested in Lorenzo.”

“And we’ll be coming back for that knife,” Jotun said, “So don’t get any wise ideas.”

With that, the two men left to make their rounds. You slunk back to your spot amongst the fence of the pen and sat down. From your spot you could see all five dwellers. Otis and Barbara laid towards the gate, his hand draped over her stomach. You found it odd that two people could fall in love in the Wastes, much less two people who were being held prisoners who hadn’t had a good shower in a month or two. 

Old Man McLatchet sat a few feet from the couple, snoring witch his head hung low. Davidson lay on your side of the pen. He was a man in his mid 30s who at one point might have been considered handsome. He made the mistake of drinking so much of the irritated water that he had begun turning Ghoulish. His hair ran in clumps of thin oily strands and his skin was beginning to rot. He still had a pleasant attitude, though, and you considered him a a friend. 

And in the back, up against the only real wall, was the King of Shit Mountain himself, Lorenzo Wellspring. He was flat on his back snoring loudly, every dweller’s evening meal tins were scattered around him. Just the sight of him made you feel sick; and you had a thought that if Davidson and Lorenzo were the last men alive, you’d jump Davidson’s bones without hesitation before you mustered up the strength it would take you to crawl under Lorenzo willingly.

You took the knife from your back pocket and turned it between your hands. That night would have been no good. Jotun and Forty were patrolling the outer areas of Paradise Falls, which meant Carolina Red and Ramsey were patrolling the inside. You could probably get away with it if it were just Ramsey; but Carolina was head over heels with Eulogy and if she got wind you had been hired to take out a high priced item, it would be her knife in your throat.

So you waited. The next night Forty was patrolling with Carolina. On one of their rounds, Carolina went to grab a Nuka Cola, leaving Forty just outside the pen.  
He motioned for you to come over. 

“What the hell are you waiting for, girl,” he whispered harshly, “The client will be here tomorrow, you gotta get it done.”

“Listen, tiger,” you whispered back, “I can’t do anything with Red hanging around. You gotta make her disappear.”

Forty thought for a moment, “Ok, I’ll try to keep her interest piqued while we’re on the other side of the yard, but make it fast, she likes to keep her eye on all of you.”

Carolina came walking back from the food court. 

“Whoa, whoa,” she said taking a swig of her drink, “This molerat giving you problems, Forty? She need to be taught a lesson?”

“Nah, Carolina,” Forty replied shaking his head, “Just begging for water. Like I told you, girl, you and the other dwellers will get clean water when y’all earn it.”

“I hate beggars,” Carolina said and spit at your feet, “I say we take her out of this pen, Forty. Teach her what happens to ungratefuls.”

You resisted the urge to roll your eyes and took a small step back to feign submission. Carolina reached through the fence and pulled you by the front of your shirt close to her.

“Where do you think you’re goin’,” she sneered, “We were just about to have some fun.”

“Stand down, Carolina,” Forty ordered, “Eulogy’s got plans for this one. A face that pretty he thinks he can get at least a couple thousand for her. Clean off the blood and mud first.”

Carolina made no move to release you.  
You looked at Forty and gave him a pointed look. He seemed to get the idea and stepped forward to place a hand on Carolina’s shoulder.

“Carolina,” he said sternly, “Remember what Eulogy did to Ritchie? After he busted up that high ticket slave? Remember what happened to him?”

“Yeah I remember,” Carolina grumbled. She released your shirt and you took a few more steps back.

Carolina aimed her gun, “Back to your hole, molerat. I’d better not see you up again.”

With that, she and Forty headed off to the other side of the yard. Forty took a glance back at you and gave a slight nod. You walked back to your spot in the pen and breathed in shakily.

You wouldn’t say you were afraid of dying, you had actually come to terms that you most likely would, either there in the pen or by whatever sicko decided to purchase you. But before you died you wanted to get Lorenzo. Damn the caps, he killed Agnes, you wanted him annihilated.

Carefully, stealthily, you crouched over to where Lorenzo was sleeping. None of the other dwellers were awake, the heat of the day exhausted everyone to deep sleep. Lorenzo lay on his back as always, mouth slightly parted, the foulest breath puffing out.

You took the knife out of your pocket and brought up the blade. In the distance, across the yard, you heard Forty tell about a rad scorpion. Muffled gunfire towards that side of the yard pursued. You looked around to see if the noise woke anyone, but they were still sacked.

You took your right hand and placed it gingerly over Lorenzo’s mouth. With your other hand you angled the knife above his chest. Taking a quick breath you plunged the knife deep into his chest. In a second Lorenzo’s eyes snapped open, a muffled scream left his mouth. You stabbed him three more times in the chest area. His eyes went wide and he began to struggle to get up. 

His large frame was too much for your own and he was able to elbow you in the face. You fell backwards, knife skittering from your hand. Lorenzo was up walking dumbly as his neck streamed blood. He was trying to yell, but only loud gurgles came forward. You got back up on your feet, looking beyond Lorenzo you could see flashlights moving. Forty and Carolina were on their way back.

You ran towards Lorenzo and threw your entire weight into his back. He landed face first in the irradiated puddle, he tried to push himself up so you sat on his back to weigh him down. 

A shadow fell over you and you looked up to see McLatchet and Davidson standing above you and Lorenzo. McLatchet climbed on Lorenzo’s back with you and in a ragged whisper said, “Finish it, girl.”

You lost the knife so you took your knee and placed it on the back of Lorenzo’s head, gripping his shoulders to keep yourself steady. Davidson helped McLatchet hold him down as you pushed Lorenzo’s head further into the water and mud. 

After a minute you noticed his movements went slack and no more bubbles were forming at the top of the water.

“That’s it, then,” McLatchet whispered, “Get ya self cleaned up, dear. And find that knife. Hurry now.”

You scrambled off Lorenzo’s body to find the knife. It had skittered towards Davidson’s spot. You took it back to the water and carefully rinsed it, then stuck it back in your pocket. Then you splashed some on your arms and face rinsing off any blood splatters. 

“Here,” a voice said behind you. You turned to see Otis offering you one of his shirts. Behind him, you saw Barbara sat up clutching her knees. 

“Thanks,” you said to Otis. You quickly changed and stuffed your old shirt under Lorenzo’s body. 

“Head for the hills, gang,” McLatchet whispered motioning to the approaching lights. 

Everyone went their separate ways and laid down pretending to be asleep. You turned away from the fence and caught Davidson staring at you.

“You ok, kid,” he whispered.

You nodded and then shut your eyes. 

The sound of footsteps crunching on the gravel alerted you that Forty and Carolina were back. The steps ended right outside the gate. 

“Shit,” Carolina muttered.

“Which one’s that,” Forty asked.

“Looks like the loudmouth. God, look at him. What do you think happened?”

“I don’t know,” Forty replied, “He is face down in the water. Maybe he drowned? Heart attack? Who cares?”

“I care,” Carolina retorted, “You should, too. He was the next one to go, one of the high tickets. And we were supposed to be watching them. How do you think Eulogy’s gonna handle us?”

There was a beat of silence between the two. Forty was the first to talk.

“Ok,” he said, “How ‘bout this? He tried to escape. He tampered with his collar, thought the water would make it slick enough to slide off or sumthin’. Boom, fucker blows up his head.”

Carolina was silent for a second, “His head’s not blown though. We’ll have to detonate the collar.”

You heard the jingling of keys as Carolina opened the gate. 

“Oh, God, he smells,” Carolina said, “He smells like shit and vomit all together. Gross.”

“Hey, let’s do this sometime tonight, ok,” Forty said, “Try not to wake the others,we don’t need them asking questions.”

“It’s a fucking bomb collar, Forty, they’re gonna wake up anyways.”

“Just hurry up, damnit, before anyone sees.”

“Ok,” Carolina said, “I’m gonna shoot it.”

“Shoot what, the collar,” Forty asked incredulously, “Are you crazy!?”

“Listen,” Carolina replied, “The explosion is small, but fast. If I’m anywhere near it when it goes, my ass is gonna be chard, too. We’ll move back close to the gate, and I’ll shoot it. I have my silent with me.”

“What about the other dwellers,” asked Forty.

“They’ll be fine,” Carolina said standing up and moving toward the gate, “They’re all away enough.”

Forty joined Carolina by the gate. She took out her silent pistol and aimed it towards Lorenzo. You braved yourself for the bang.

Carolina shot twice, the first shot ricocheted off the collar and you heard it hit the dirt somewhere next to your head.

“Watch it,” Forty muttered.

The second shot hit the collar in the sweet spot and a small boom resounded in the pen; a wave of light heat drifted over you.  
You opened your eyes and saw Davidson getting up, acting startled. Deciding to follow suit, you sat up, brought your knees to your chest and looked around.

Carolina and Forty were outside the gate again, Carolina just having locked it back up.

“What the hell happened,” Otis cried, he looked over at Carolina.

Carolina shrugged, “Must’ve tried to take the collar off. You all were told what would happen, now you get to witness it firsthand.”

She walked off towards the other side of the yard. Forty hung back to look you over. He didn’t say anything, but tapped the area under his right eye before walking off. You wiped your eye and when you brought your hand away there was more of Lorenzo’s blood on your hand. 

“Everyone, try to get some sleep,” McLatchet said, “Tomorrow’s another day.”

A week later and Lorenzo’s mutilated body still laid in the water. Eulogy had been furious when he found out, and exiled Forty and Carolina for three days for not watching the pen closer. Jotun had come back for the knife the night after, and you had slid it over to him without hesitation. It wouldn’t have done you any good to try to keep it with you. 

You never did see those caps or water.


	2. The Auction

Davidson walked over to where you laid in the dirt, flat on your back, your arms draped over your face to shade it from the sun. It was a beautiful day, at least for the Wastes. Winter was on its way, and the day was cool without being cold. Big puffy white clouds drifted lazily across a hazy blue sky.

“You alright, dear,” Davidson asked sitting down next to you.

“Peachy keen,” you replied, “I just finished a romantic lunch with Prince Charming and now he’s offered me all the diamonds and jewels I could ever want.”

Davidson chuckled, “Busy lady. You know, I overheard Eulogy tell one of the Slavers an auction is coming up.”

“And me without my mascara.”

“Hey, whatever happens, it was real nice knowing ya, kid. And what ya did...for Aggie...and gettin’ rid of Lorenzo..that was brave. Thanks.”

You moved your arms to look at Davidson. His head was bent low and he was fidgeting with a piece of torn cloth on his pants. You sat up and ran your fingers through the dirt.

“You worried,” you asked.

Davidson nodded, “I think this’ll be it for all of us, kid. We already know an associate for Gemorrah is coming to look at Barbara. Otis is young, strong- he’ll probably get sold. You will, too. That’ll leave me and the old man. He might get chosen, might not. But me? This is my final resting spot. No one wants a Ghoul.”

You nodded slowly, “They’ll be bringing in new blood soon. Don’t let them push ya around, Davy. You should take up Lorenzo’s old spot, become the new King of Shit Mountain.”

Davidson smiled, “Yeah. Maybe.”

A gun went off and you and Davidson looked around to see Eulogy Jones strutting towards the gate, pistol in the air.

“Line up, scavs,” he ordered.

You and Davidson got up and went to stand in line with the others. McLatchet gave you a toothy grin as you came up to him.

Eulogy stood in front of the gate, “Well, well, well. The last ones standing, how do you like that? I got good news and I got bad news. Good news is, it’s Auction Day. Which means everyone gets a shower, clean clothes, some RadAway, and a stimpack for good measure. Bad news is, I only have clients for four of you.”

Without warning Eulogy aimed his gun at Davidson and pulled the trigger. His blood sprayed your face; you looked down at his lifeless body and shuddered. Barbara started to whimper and you heard Otis tell her to be quiet. You felt yourself starting to lose it, but McLatchet gripped your arm tightly. You blinked back tears and faced the front again, wiping your hands on your jeans.

“Ghouls have no place in this world,” Eulogy explained with a wicked smile, “Not worth caps, not worth nothin’. You four, however, are gonna make me a rich man. Well...a richer man.”

He looked over at Ramsey and Richter, “You take two, and you take two. Get them to the showers. Now.”

—————————————————————-

You turned the water as hot as you could take and relished in the steam and heat. Ramsey stood outside the shower enjoying watching you. In another time, you might have spun around to spit in his face; but in this new world, civility wasn’t a common gesture. Everyone was for themselves and you took your jollies where and when you could. 

After your shower, you were given clean clothes. Underwear, bra, a white tank top, black jeans, some socks and boots. You ignored the disgusting commentary Ramsey provided while you were changing by imagining taking a cleaver to his head.

Otis walked over to you, pulling his t-shirt out of his new blue jeans.

“Damn, girl, you don’t look half bad cleaned up,” he said with a lopsided smile.

You smirked, “Wish I could say the same, freak.”

Otis actually didn’t look bad, either. You kind of understood why Barbara had fallen for him.

Otis smiled, “Hey, sorry about Davidson. He was a good guy. You guys were taken together right?”

You smiled sadly, ”Nah. He was already here, but he made me and the people I was brought with feel like we were entering a three star flea motel instead of a disgusting mud pen.”

“Hey,” Ramsey called behind the two of you, “Quit cluckin’ like hens and get to the mess hall, unless you want to end up like your little zombie pal.”

——————————————————————

The mess hall was a long narrow building with three rows of tables along its length. Nuka Cola and Sunset Sarsaparilla machines were at one end, while food merchants were at the other.

Ramsey pointed his gun towards a table where McLatchet and Barbara already sat eating.

“Sit,” he commanded.

You and Otis took a seat on either side of the table, you by McLatchet and Otis next to Barbara. Barbara, who was quite the looker once all the grime was washed away, threw her arms around Otis’ neck.

“Whoa, there,” Otis chuckled. He softly laid a hand on the back of Barbara’s head and smoothed down her curly red hair.

“So, what’s on the menu,” you asked McLatchet.

“Mac ‘n cheese, yucca fruit, and some kind of mysterious meat- I’d stay away from that if I were you,” McLatchet replied.

He looked a lot younger cleaned up, you noticed. You had originally thought him to be around his mid 70s, but with the dirt scraped off you pegged him at late 40s, early 50s.

“You look good, old man,” you told him.

McLatchet gave you one of his signature toothy grins, “Don’t go falling for me, kid, I’d hate to break your heart.”

Jotun walked up behind the table and threw two trays of food down in front of you and Otis, “Eat quickly. Clients are starting to arrive.”

He motioned for Cutter to come over. Cutter was a woman in her early 40s with short grey hair and a sour expression. She used to be a slave until the previous doctor of Paradise Falls had an unfortunate run in with Eulogy’s gun. Since Cutter had some minor knowledge of medical tech, Eulogy gave her the position.

“We’re running out of time,” Jotun told Cutter, “Dose’em, and get ‘em out to the yard.”

You scarfed down your food while Cutter administered stimpacks to you and your friends. After eating, she had your group take a heavy dose of RadAway. Instantly you felt better than you had in a long time.

“Alright,” Cutter said, “Y’all heard the man, out to the yard.”

You followed your group back out into the yard, despite what was about to happen you could tell everyone’s mood was light. 

Jotun met you in the yard and lead your group back to the pen, which was missing the bodies of Lorenzo and Davidson. 

Jotun had your group line up just inside the pen’s gate. He walked down the line inspecting everyone.

“Keep your mouth shut,” he said lowly, “Don’t speak unless spoken to. Whatever attitudes you have, lose ‘em. Be smart, but not too smart.”

“Jotun,” Eulogy said walking out into the yard, “Are we ready?”

“Yes, sir,” Jotun replied and stepped away from the pen. 

“Good morning, scrubs,” Eulogy called, “I’d like to introduce you to some of my...friends.”

He motioned to the four people behind him. They all stepped forward to get a better look at the pen and you took the time to size them up.

Closest to you was a man with shaggy brown hair and a metal arm. He wore tactical gear and had a rifle strapped to back as well as two guns strapped to holsters on his hips. He looked through the pen at you and your friends as though looking over a puzzle, trying to guess which piece would fit where.

A red haired woman stood next to him, also in tactical gear, also loaded with weapons. She wore a smirk that said she’s played this game before and she looked over the group as if she’s seen better offerings. You had heard stories about this woman- Natasha Romanov; she ran a Raider camp outside of the Capital Wastes known as The Red Ledger. 

Next to Natasha was a man wearing an eye patch and a long black jacket. He looked cleaner than the rest, as if he wasn’t used to doing the dirty work. He was eyeing up Barbara with his head tilted slightly.

And on the other side of this man stood a rather timid looking nerdy type. He had curly brown hair and wore light clothes and large frame glasses; a stark contrast from everyone else in his group. He smiled awkwardly as he looked over the pen. 

“Scrubs, this is Bucky Barnes, Natasha Romanov, Nick Fury, and Dr. Bruce Banner. They’ve come to make me an offer on you, an offer I’m sure I’ll like.”

Eulogy turned to study the clients as he said this, “Caps only, please remember. If anyone has any questions? Or we can start the bidding now?”

The man Eulogy called Bucky walked closer to the pen.

“Do you have people on the outside,” he asked the group.

Otis shrugged, “Maybe a brother or two towards New Vegas.”

McLatchet whistled, “Whole clan’s running around here someplace. Also got a few members westward, like ol’ Otis down there. Some in the Capital, too.”

Barbara looked from Bucky to the ground, “My parents and siblings live in Tenpenny Tower. At least they did....It’s been two years since I’ve seen them.”

Natasha and Nick shared a look at the mention of Tenpenny Tower. Bucky looked at you.

“No,” you said firmly, not shying away from his eye contact. Whether or not you still had family was a mystery to you, but you figured it wasn’t likely.

Natasha stepped forward, “Have you killed anyone?”

McLatchet and Barbara both said no while you and Otis said yes.

“How many,” Natasha asked.

“One,” Otis replied, “He uh...killed my sister. I got him back.”

“A revenge killing,” Natasha said smiling, “Good.”

“You,” Bucky asked squinting against the sun to get a better look at you, “How many have you killed?”

“Couple,” you answered lazily.

Bucky and Natasha both looked at you quizzically. Eulogy chuckled from the side.

“Don’t be shy, my dear,” he said, and then he turned towards Bucky and Natasha, “If a weapon is what you’re after then look no further.”

He nodded towards you, “She killed seven of my men while they were transporting her here from Texas. I ended up having to hire Drax the Destroyer to get her here; and she dealt him a fair share of damage, too. Drax told me they got into a stitch of trouble as they were crossing the Capital- a large group of Raiders came for them. She supposedly took down fifteen of the twenty.”

You felt the eyes of Otis and Barbara staring at you, while out of the corner of your eye you saw McLatchet give you an adoring smile. Natasha raised an eyebrow while Bucky smirked, but neither of them asked any more questions.

“Anybody else,” Eulogy asked, “Mayor? Doctor?”

Nick Fury shook his head, “I’ve heard all I need to hear.”

“Do any of you have medical knowledge,” Banner asked. He was soft spoken and calm which made you uneasy. From your experience the quiet ones were always the most dangerous. 

“My grand pappy was a horse doctor,” McLatchet spoke up.

A smile tugged at the corner of your lips and you bit the inside of your cheek to keep from laughing.

“Well,” Eulogy said, “If that’s the end of the questions, shall we begin?”

Everyone murmured in agreement. Nick stepped forward and gestures towards Barbara and asked the group, “I’m inclined to believe no one else is interested in her?”

When no one spoke up he continued, “600 caps, then, Jones. A fair amount, and I’ll throw in a few free trips to the Memory Den.”

Eulogy smiled and rubbed his hands together, “Now this, this is my favorite part. Wheelin’ and dealin’. How about we make it 900, that’s a hundred less than I have on her.”

“750,” bartered Nick.

“800,” Eulogy shot back, “And a few chems for the trouble.”

Nick thought it over and then reached in his coat and pulled out a satchel. 

“800 caps,” he said tossing the satchel to Eulogy, “You’ll have your chems in two days time.”

“Ramsey,” Eulogy ordered.

Ramsey unlocked the pen and dragged Barbara out by her arm. Barbara looked behind her at Otis, dread written across her face. Otis nodded and gave her a loving smile. Eulogy handed Nick a small gold key.

“For her collar,” he explained dropping the key into Nick’s open hand, “Thank you for your business, Nick. Give my regards to Stark.”

Nick nodded and followed Jotun towards the exit with Barbara trailing behind them. She took one last look at the pen before the sliding doors closed behind her.

“Who’s next,” Eulogy clapped, “Doctor? Any specimen catch your eye?”

Banner smiled, “I think I’d like to bid on this one here.”

He pointed to McLatchet who gave Bruce a salute.

“Anybody else want the geezer,” asked Eulogy.

When no one responded Eulogy turned his attention back to the doctor, “1,000 caps then, doctor.”

Bruce nodded as he walked over to Eulogy and handed him the caps. Ramsey unlocked the pen again and pulled McLatchet out just as Jotun returned from leading Nick and Barbara out of the city. 

“Good luck, Doctor, and safe travels,” Eulogy said as Ramsey led him and McLatchet towards the front gate.

McLatchet looked over his shoulder at the gate and gave you and Otis one last toothy smile.

“And then there were two,” Eulogy said, “What are we thinking, kids? Now, please, fair warning: I’m willing to negotiate on his price but I must stay firm with hers.”

“How much for the guy,” Natasha asked.

“You’re letting me have the weapon,” Bucky smirked at Natasha while gesturing to you, “Without a fight? You’ve lost your touch, Nat.”

Natasha smirked, “She has 22 people under her belt already, Barnes- that we know of. And that look in her eye, I’ve seen that before. That’s not a weapon, that’s a fucking nuclear war...and I have close quarters.”

Bucky smirked, “So you’ve lost your edge?”

“I’ve lost my desire to be the biggest and baddest. I have a pretty comfortable set up with a few assets I’d like to keep. How much for him?”

“1,500,” Eulogy said.

“1,100 and that’s that,” Natasha replied handing Eulogy a small black box with the words “Red Ledger” stamped on the side.  
Eulogy nodded at Ramsey to unlock the gate. 

Otis clapped you on the arm and whispered a quick good bye. Eulogy handed Natasha the key to Otis’ collar. 

“Thanks again, Eulogy,” Natasha said, “And good luck Barnes, you’re gonna need it.”

“I’m not worried,” Barnes replied.

Nat looked over at you and smirked, “Boy, you should be.”

She smiled at Otis as they walked away, “Come on, blondie, let’s get you home.”

“How much,” Barnes asked Eulogy.

“You know, Bucky, you’ve been a good and loyal client to me over the years. Bring me the freshest scrubs, give me first choice on any weapons you find out in the Wastes. So I’ll cut you in a little deal. 5,000 caps and she’s yours.”

“Did you drink a cup of stupid, Jones,” Bucky quipped, “Even for an actual weapon, that’s steep, much less for a scrub.”

“If you remember, I did say I had to be firm on her price. I’ve had several offers for her though, so if you’re no longer interested....”

Bucky grumbled something under his breath, then produced a satchel from under his jacket. He threw the bag to Eulogy who caught it and flashed Bucky a big smile.

Jotun unlocked the gate and motioned for you to step out. As soon as you left the pen the gate was slammed shut and locked. Jotun pushed you towards Bucky with the barrel of his gun.

Eulogy gave Bucky the key to your collar, “She’s all yours, my friend. Safe travels.”

“Yeah, thanks,” Bucky replied in a somewhat dull manner. He looked you over once again, “You don’t look like much.”

“Neither do you,” you scoffed. 

Most handlers would have shot you on the spot, at least hit you for making such a comment. Bucky Barnes was not like most handlers. Instead of raising his fist he gave you a smirk and a nod.

“Yeah....Maybe. Well, Scrub, let’s get going. We’ve got a long way home.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading and thanks for your feedback.


	3. Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You and Bucky make your way home.

About a mile outside of Paradise Falls Bucky released you from your collar.

“You can run if you want,” he said as he tossed the collar to the ground, “With no weapon and no idea where to go, you won’t get far. The bloatflies will have you swarmed in minutes.”

He started walking again, leaving you where you stood. Some part of you wanted to run, but Bucky was right- you needed a weapon. Deciding to bide your time and stay with Bucky until you saw something other than desert; you ran to catch up with him.

“Where do you live,” you asked.

“Vault 101,” Bucky replied, “Some way south from here, in between Arefu and Megaton.”

“I have no idea what those names mean,” you said, “The Slavers took me from a vault in Texas. They didn’t offer me a tour of the area before throwing me in their mud pen.”

Bucky smiled, “I’ll make you a map. You’ll need to learn this area extensively for what I need you for.”

“Which is what, exactly?”

“I have a few operations in all areas of the Wastes and l’m looking to expand. Some people don’t like that. I need a hired gun to help me change their minds.”

“A merc needs a hired gun,” you asked, “Isn’t that like a barber needing a hairdresser?”

Bucky smirked but didn’t say anything.

“So are there others,” you asked, “You know, in the vault?”

“Used to be,” Bucky replied, “Until I had a disagreement with the people who lived there.”

“Disagreement?”

“I needed a safe place to conduct business. I asked, they refused- I killed them.”

Your steps faltered slightly.

“Does that bother you,” Bucky asked stopping to look at you.

You bit the inside of your cheek, “No. What do I care about some unknown vault dwellers?”

Bucky looked you in the eyes, “Listen, the last scrub I had started off as a slave but died as a rich man. There’s caps in this business- if you’re willing to play the game. You might think you’re tough, taking out a few Slavers and Raiders, but believe me, that’s nothing compared to what you’re about to get into. I’ve got the Red Ledger trying to push into my turf, the Brotherhood of Steel breathing down my neck, and people all over the Wastes who want me dead. All I ask from you is complete loyalty, honesty, and a level head. Can you agree to that?”

You stared back, unflinching and unmoved, “I’m gonna need that weapon, then, Sir.”

Bucky started walking again, “Barnes, or Bucky. Never ‘sir’.”

————————————————

The opening to vault 101 was imbedded in the side of a mountain, practically unseen from unknowing passers by; with a thin walking trail almost covered by debris and dust as the only clue something of interest could be around. The silent town of Springvale was spread out below, shells of burned out houses creaking in the winter wind. The ghost town always tugged at your heart strings making you think of the families that used to inhabit the place.

Vault 101 was massive- and disgusting. The stench of death and decay hit you as soon as Bucky ushered you into the vault door. Dried blood covered the walls in patches, remnants of Bucky’s “disagreement” and who knew what else. 

“Gee, what a dump,” you said as Bucky led you down a hallway.

“Scrubs who live in pig pens shouldn’t cast stones,” Bucky remarked.

“You say you conduct business here?”

“Yeah.”

“With who? The Crypt Keeper?”

Bucky stopped outside of a room and motioned for you to go in, “I hope I didn’t pay 5,000 caps just for your mouth.”

“Wishing you kept that collar?”

“Something like that.”

The room was an old diner, and looked to be the only room actually lived in. The radio on the counter was playing softly; some Ella Fitzgerald tune you used to remember. Racks stacked up on one side of the room, blocked another door and held wooden crates of bombs and hand grenades with a red star painted on the side of each one.

Stacks of chems were on every counter, and a few guns were spread throughout. Two booths had been converted into a makeshift bed and a Grognak comic lay on top of the bedside table beside it.  
In the corner next to a broken down jukebox was a dirty rolled up sleeping bag.

“Ah,” you said taking it all in, “So this is where the magic happens.”

“This is my stuff over here,” Bucky said pointing to the makeshift bed and crates of weapons, “You’re bed is over there.”

He pointed to the sleeping bag; a tiny step up from sleeping on bare dirt. 

“Bathroom’s down the hall.”

“Is it as charming as the living quarters,” you muttered.

“If you’re not happy with the accommodations, you’re welcome to move into any of the other rooms,” Bucky said as he pulled up a stool to the counter, “You’ll need to stomp some rad roaches first, clear out some bodies.”

You looked down at the pathetic sleeping bag and sighed, “You got a heavy boot lying around?”


	4. A Plan

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Two years have gone by and you’re making a name for Bucky and yourself throughout the Wastes.

Two years later

“I met with my contact from the Children of Atom and he’s agreed to take some of our stock to the other Children out in the Glowing Sea. Apparently there’s a whole clan of the weirdos out that way, all worshipping together in their little irradiated town.”

Bucky nodded into his coffee as you debriefed him. He read the dossier you compiled while you fixed breakfast.

“The Brass Lantern has agreed to sell for us,” you continued cracking eggs into a frying pan, “But that hard ass Moriarty is being just that- a hard ass. He wants triple the pay for a quarter of the work.”

“Did you introduce him to your gun,” Bucky asked looking up at you.

You grinned, “I did. And he introduced me to his.”

You stopped cooking and lifted up your shirt slightly to show Bucky the patched up bullet hole in your side.

“That happened yesterday? Why didn’t you tell me,” Bucky said setting down his coffee.

You dropped your shirt and flipped the eggs, “Didn’t seem important. I had a stimpack, and it was nothing the robot couldn’t handle.”

The vault had a Mr. Handy unit that some bozo thought would make a good doctor. Only problem was they put his kill efficiency on high and his stabilizing capability at a tight zero. You helped Bucky fix him after you had been staying there for awhile, then Bucky made you scrub the blood off the clinic room floor and walls.

“I’ll pay Moriarty a visit this afternoon,” Bucky said going back to reading the file.

You laughed and slid a plate of food in front of Bucky, “No, Bucky, you won’t. We don’t need him dead, we need him to cooperate. And I think I know how.”

“I hope it’s not by making him one of your five star meals,” Bucky replied sarcastically tipping his plate up to get a better look at your concoction.

“Hey, those who live in a literal wasteland can’t be choosers,” you replied, “Go on, eat your sludge. It’ll make you grow big and strong.”

Bucky took a tentative bite, grimaced slightly then shrugged and picked up another fork full.

“What’s the plan then,” Bucky asked mouth full of food.

You took a swig of coffee, “You remember that caravan I helped to Oblivion a few months back? I guess the trader was some kinda tailor; I found a few garments, mostly trashed, but in one trunk there was a pristine never-been-worn dress. Pretty cute, ya know, if dresses are your thing. Thought I would slip it on, maybe take Moriarty a bottle of wi-“

Bucky sputtered on his coffee and started laughing; a deep hearty laugh you’d never heard come from him. He wheezed and slammed his normal hand on the counter, “You’re gonna try and woo the man, Scrub?”

You feigned hurt, “Excuse me, Barnes?”

Bucky wiped a tear from his eye, “You’re gonna get all dolled up, work that feminine magic?”

All at once, Bucky doubled over in another laughing fit. You chuckled slightly, “So what if I am? You don’t think he would go for me?”

“Listen, Scrub- I mean, yeah it’s not like you’re a centaur or anything, but....”

“But what, Barnes?”

“But, I mean, you’re not gonna be winning any beauty contests.”

“I will have you know, sir, that there are PLENTY of men out in the Wastes who would be overjoyed to have me on their arm.”

“Overjoyed or over desperate,” Bucky quipped.

You bit the inside of your cheek to keep from smiling, “Ass.”

You put your dishes in the sink and sauntered out of the diner.

“Let me know when you’re gonna put this plan into action,” Bucky called after you, “I’d hate to miss it.”

You scoffed and muttered, “Ass,” before continuing to your room.

————————————————-

It didn’t take you long to get settled into the vault and into a life with Bucky. You were just happy to be able to move around freely without someone pointing a gun in your face every ten seconds.

A few times you did think about running, Bucky made it easy for you. He told you you were free to stay and free to go. The only catch was if you decided to go it would be unarmed, and the walk from Paradise Falls to Vault 101 was enough to let you know that the Wastes were unforgiving.

So you stayed; Bucky was good on his word about making you a map. You learned your way around, you learned of the different factions of the Wastes- most of them not too keen on Bucky Barnes. He taught you the ins and outs of his business- weapons and chem trading mostly, with the occasional hit contract; but only if the client was able and willing to pay a hefty sum. Bucky Barnes was no nickel assassin. 

Sometimes you found yourself thinking of the pen, of your friends, and how they’re faring. You often wondered if any of them were dead. You would hear things from passing caravans and scavengers; the Red Ledger took over some settlements to the east. The good doctor Banner helped some scientists in the Commonwealth create a more efficient way to purify water resulting in faster supply of aqua pura. 

For the last two years, Bucky’s had you working on getting a foothold for his business in Megaton. Apparently he tried a few times before with unsuccessful results; the last time causing the death of his previous “Scrub”.

Maybe it was the “can-do” attitude you put forth that made the people of Megaton trust you, maybe they were just tired of being on the defensive all the time. Whatever it was, Megaton became your second home away from the vault. You even had a shack there, something you would never tell Bucky, but you were sure he already knew. It helped you play the part of down on her luck scavenger trying to get through one more day in the Wastes.  
————————————————————

You packed a bag to take with you to Megaton, it wasn’t a long trip but if you got Moriarty where you wanted him, it could potentially turn into an overnight stay. 

You strapped on two pistols, one on either leg, and slung your assault rifle across your back. A few bottles of aqua pura went into your sack as well as a handful of stimpacks. Moriarty had a mean temper, and since your last run in with him caused you to take a bullet, you weren’t going to give him another chance.

Finally, you took the dress out of your wardrobe and carefully laid it in the bag. Zipping the bag close, you slung it over your shoulder and left your bedroom.  
———————————————————

“All packed,” Bucky asked as you walked outside into the Wastes. 

“Yeah,” you replied zipping up your jacket, “Where are you gonna be?”

Bucky ran a hand through his hair, “I got word a good size caravan would be passing along Arefu. Thought I’d go take a look.”

You nodded and started walking down the trail, “Good luck.”

“Have fun, Scrub,” Bucky called after you, “Use protection.”

You flipped him off and continued walking down the trail.


	5. Best Laid Schemes: Part One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Moriarty agrees to meet with you and Bucky has abandonment issues.

Bucky didn’t believe in getting attached to people, not since the world went to hell anyways. There was a time, when he believed that The Wasteland could be something more, when he was all about fighting the Good Fight- but that was long ago. The Wastes was a hard place to live, easy place to die; no use making friends- they’ll most likely be dead by the end of the day. 

But what Bucky did believe in is the old adage “good help is hard to find”; so when good help did show up, he liked to keep them close. Which was why he was following you to Megaton. The bastard, Moriarty, had already killed one of his scrubs, he wasn’t about to let it happen again.

You were different from his previous partners. For starters you didn’t bitch and moan about the labor involved- the stealing, the maiming, the killing- you just kind of rolled with it. You were good at following orders, and coming up with your own plan. Plans that were sometimes (often) better than his own. And that made you valuable- and dangerous.

Bucky couldn’t afford to lose you (something he would rather die in a shit-pie than admit), either to a bullet or to a better offer of employment. Natasha, all her bullshit aside, was still keeping tabs on you. Knew how much of an asset you had made yourself. And if she was watching then so were other leaders of factions, and when you get noticed in the Wastes it can either mean good news or bad news.

Bucky also knew you could strike out on your own if you truly wanted. Hell, more than half his clients would be willing to leave with you. You had a certain charisma about you that Bucky lacked, and he admired and hated you for it. He, himself, couldn’t help but like you (shit-pie), and that disgusted him. But as much as he liked you, he’d be damned if he’d have his business muddled, and by a Scrub at that. 

So he followed you, to make sure you didn’t die and to make sure you weren’t about to screw him over.  
—————————————————

Bucky watched as you entered a shack behind the Brass Lantern. He knew it had been awarded to you after you defused Ol’Atom at the center of town. Good deeds, like bad deeds, got spread around throughout the Wasteland. Like his old scrub used to say, “Ya can’t pass gas in Arefu without someone in Rivet City knowing the smell and duration by morning.”

Bucky made his way to the Brass Lantern and took a seat. Confessor Cromwell was in his usual spot- knee deep in irradiated water in which the atom bomb lay dormant. He had drawn the regular crowd and was giving his daily spiel about how everyone was a child of Atom.

“Hey, Jenny,” Bucky said to a brunette woman standing behind the bar, “What’s on the menu?”

Jenny Stahl ran the Brass Lantern with her two brothers, Andy and Leo. She was a cute kid and a hard worker, and the voice of reason between Andy and Leo. 

“Here ya go,” Jenny replied and slid a menu over to Bucky. 

Twenty minutes later, Bucky was finishing up a bowl of squirrel stew when out of the corner of his eye he saw you walking towards the ramp that led up to Moriarty’s saloon. He almost did a double take when he saw you. Your hair was down, the first time he’d ever seen it that way, and the silver sequined dress you salvaged hugged your body in all the right ways. Bucky thought if he was a lesser man he’d drag you back to vault 101 and spend the night christening every room. 

But of course, _“Not bad for a Scrub, and she is a Scrub- remember that, pal.”_

Jenny came over to clear Bucky’s plate and she let out a low whistle as she watched you, “Did ya see that fox, James?”

Bucky smirked, “Sure did, Jenny. Who knew the Scrub could clean up like that, huh?”

Jenny frowned at Bucky, “You ain’t so cute, Barnes.”

Bucky winked at Jenny and threw some caps on the counter,” ‘Scuse me, I believe it’s fox season.”  
—————————————————

Moriarty’s Saloon was a dark dank hole in the wall that served lukewarm alcohol and service with a grimace. Rooms were available to rent for a pretty decent 120 caps and that came with some company from the bar’s prostitute, Nova. Moriarty himself usually kept to the back room with all his books and his caps. Gob, a ghoul with a mediocre sense of humor, ran the counter. 

When Bucky walked in, he noticed the bar was pretty dead for a Saturday night. Billy Creed and Jericho were the only patrons there; Billy at the bar, Jericho at a table by the door. Nova was no where to be seen, probably entertaining a client upstairs. You sat at the bar directly in front of the door and all eyes were on you. Bucky’s hands clenched slightly. Billy wasn’t much of a threat, but Jericho was bad business, bad company, and bad natured. And after what happened between him and Jenny, Bucky wouldn’t trust him alone or in public with any woman with a pulse.

Bucky rolled his shoulders and made himself relax. As he approached the counter he heard you ask Gob if Moriarty was in.

“Somewhere in the back, I believe,” Gob said, “Lemme go fetch him for ya, smooth-skin.”

As Gob left, Bucky took the seat next to you, “Say, doll, what’s a dame like you doin’ in a place like this?”

Bucky smirked as you looked at him through squinted eyes, “I thought I told you to stay back at the vault, Barnes.”

“Actually you didn’t,” Bucky replied, “Nice getup by the way, maybe Moriarty will hang you from the ceiling like a chandelier after he kills you.”

“He won’t have a chance to kill me since you’ve got me with one foot in the grave already.”

“Listen, Scrub, I’m just trying to look out for you-“

“I don’t need you to look out for me, I need you to disappear,” you muttered.

“Now is that anyway to treat a guy who practically gave you your freedom?”

You leaned close into Bucky, almost pressing your bodies together. Bucky’s eyes went from yours to your mouth, his smirk faltering a little. Bucky continued to lean into you until he felt the barrel of a gun being pressed against his ribs.

“Leave,” you said through clenched teeth, your lips brushing his.

Bucky squinted his eyes, “Where’d you pull that gun from?”

“Your mother’s asshole. Get out, Barnes.”

Bucky took one last glance at your lips before pulling away. He stood up from the stool and looked around the room settling his eyes on Jericho. Without another word he walked out the door.

—————————————————

You were convinced Bucky was a madman who was going to get you killed one day. You just hoped it was after you secured the deal with Moriarty. Gob came out from the back, “He said he’ll see you.”

You nodded and made your way to the backroom, closing the door behind you. The backroom was small and contained a desk and computer, a large wall rack with some boxes of food, and a set of broken down lockers. 

Moriarty sat in the desk chair leaned back with his arms crossed, “Well, well....I dare say, my girl, that’s a dangerous dress. Now don’t go tellin’ me ya got all fancy just for me?”

 _Oh, Lord._

Steeling yourself you flashed your most innocent smile and shrugged, “Can’t a girl make an effort?”

“She certainly can,” Moriarty replied scratching his chin and moving his eyes down your body.

“Besides,” you said taking a step forward, “I wear that merc outfit so much, it feels like no one ever sees me as the...woman I truly am.”

“That half-synth Barnes you run around with probably doesn’t pay you the attention a girl like you needs, does he? Nah, I’m sure he don’t. I swear, that bastard Eden took his dick as well as his arm.”

“Let’s not talk about Barnes,” you cooed as you knelt down in front of Moriarty, “I’d rather talk about us.”

Moriarty shifted in his chair, “Us, dearie?”

———————————————————————

Bucky pulled out a bobby pin from his pocket and started working on Moriarty’s back door. He could hear you cozying up to him and it made his skin crawl for reasons he wasn’t going to think about.

_Good help is hard to find._

He could hear your voice, muffled only slightly by the thin walls of the saloon, “I know a big, powerful man like you has all sorts of connections out in the Wastes. Connections that make you a very important person....”

Bucky smirked as he continued to work the lock. Damn, the Scrub was good; she really knew how to play to Moriarty’s ego. The soft click of the lock being popped drew Bucky out of his thoughts. He carefully turned the knob, holding his breath. The knob yielded after what seemed like hours, and Bucky pushed minutely on the door opening a thin space just enough to see what was happening with one eye.

Moriarty’s back was facing Bucky, and he could see you on your knees in front of him, smiling up at Moriarty as if he was the greatest living thing you had ever saw. And Moriarty was eating it up, for now at least. Bucky pulled out his silenced 10mm; a last resort and only a last resort he told himself.

“An important man, such as yourself,” you said, “Shouldn’t have to worry about setting up meetings, or traveling around the Wastes; he should be able to sit back and relax and let other people take care of his business...and him.”

“And you think you’re the one to take that on, lass,” Moriarty asked stroking the left side of your face.

Bucky gripped his gun a little tighter.

You stood up and slid onto Moriarty’s lap. Bucky could see one of Moriarty’s hands instantly go to your thigh.

“I don’t see why not,” you said, “Help you keep your business organized by day, help you relax by night. That queen sized bed must be awfully lonely.”

“I have to say I’m surprised,” Moriarty said, “You coming to me like this. After all, I did put a bullet in you.”

You chuckled, “Oh, I’m not worried about that. This is the Wastes, that’s how friends say hello these days.”

Moriarty hummed, “And now, what about Barnes?”


	6. Best Laid Schemes: Part Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You almost have Moriarty’s trust. You just have to seal the deal before Bucky makes a mess.

You had Moriarty right where you wanted him. You knew he wouldn’t be able to resist praise and some cleavage. If you could just push him a little further.

“And now, what about Barnes,” Moriarty asked.

You smirked as you began to answer, “Barnes-“

A slight movement behind Moriarty caught your eye. You glanced up swiftly and noticed the back door was opened a thin crack. And you could just make out a hint of blue peeping at you.

_‘I’ll kill him,’ you thought, ‘Of all the dumbass thi-‘_

“Barnes,” you said, raising your voice slightly, “Barnes? Let me tell you about Bucky Barnes- he’s an idiot. When he brought me on board his entire business was a mess. Shipments being over taken by low level raiders, ammo and guns being stolen- or just lost! Sure, he had some people’s loyalty because, let’s be honest, if a hulking man with a metal arm threatened you, you’d do what he says. But terror only breeds business for so long. Why do you think he’s been sending me around the Wastes while he stays holed up in 101? I have more charisma, better politics than Barnes. And that’s why I know if I were to leave him, most if not all of his customers would follow me.”

“And if he were to just die,” you continued, risking a glance towards the door and towards that small pitch of blue, “Even better.”

You looked back at Moriarty and smiled, “I’m placing the entire future of the Wastes in your hands. All you have to do is say yes.”

Moriarty flashed a toothy grin as he traced patterns with his fingertips over your exposed right knee, “Are you familiar with the expression ‘too much sugar for a dime’? It’s an archaic expression from a time before the bombs fell. Back when the world used paper for money instead of caps. You came from the freezer, I’m sure you know it.”

You nodded stiffly not liking where the conversation was heading.

“It was a phrase my dear Mother, God rest her, often said to us,” Moriarty continued, “When we would make up stories to avoid gettin’ into trouble.”

Moriarty’s hand travelled up further along the side of your thigh to where you had strapped on a pistol. His hand snaked around the gun and his smile grew wider.

“I’m sorry, my dear,” he said, “This sugar you’re tryin’ to sell me, although wrapped up beautifully- is just a bit too much for my dime.”

In a moment he had your gun pressed against the underside of your chin. You glanced towards the crack in the door and tried to mentally wield Bucky from causing a scene.

“Wait,” you commanded, still looking at the door, hoping Bucky would understand, “Just wait.”

Moriarty pressed the gun harder against you, and his other hand found your hair and pulled down on it causing you to grimace.

You knew you had to make a move before Bucky charged in, and you knew Moriarty kept a switchblade in his left pocket. While he focused his attention on the gun you deftly slid your hand into his pocket.

“No,” Moriarty spoke through clenched teeth, “I’m tired of waiting. I let you live last time, and I can see now that was a mistake. A mistake I won’t make twice!”

You almost had the knife when the back door swung open and Bucky charged in, his pistol aimed for Moriarty’s head. In the commotion, Moriarty pushed you off his lap and turned aiming your gun at Bucky. 

As you fell to the floor you called out, “The arm!”

Bucky took a quick second to recalibrate his shot and aimed for Moriarty’s right arm, firing once. The gun and two of his fingers flew off in different directions. Moriarty dropped the gun to try and stop the bleeding. You kicked hard at the back of his knees. He fell to the floor beside you howling in agony. You noticed a washrag hanging off the side of his desk. You swiped it and stuffed it in his mouth to muffle the screams.

“Shut up, you big baby,” You hissed, “Shut up!”

“I can make him be quiet,” Bucky said standing over the two of you, and pointed his gun at Moriarty’s head again.

You grabbed the gun and wrenched it out of his hands, “Are you fucking stupid, Barnes? We need him.”

“Not that bad.”

You shook your head, “I told you to stay out of it. I had it under control.”

“Are you serious, Scrub,” Bucky asked incredulously, “You were about half a sec away from meeting your maker. I saved your ass.”

“You almost created a bigger problem,” You hissed. 

Bucky was about to retaliate when a pounding knock came from the door leading out to the bar.

“Boss,” Gob’s voice sounded concerned, “You ok in there? I thought I heard a gun shot.”

Bucky tried to reach for the gun you took from him but you swatted his hand away.

“Stop,” you whispered.

Holding up his hands in defeat, Bucky took a step back from you. You grabbed the switchblade you took off Moriarty and pressed the blade to his neck.

“You’re going to answer him,” you said calmly, “And you’re going to make sure he leaves and doesn’t come back. Or else, they’ll find you missing more than just your fingers. Understand?”

Moriarty nodded. You took the rag out of his mouth but kept the knife on him. 

“Speak,” you whispered.

Moriarty took a gulp of air.

“Don’t-,” you warned, pressing the knife further into his neck.

Moriarty nodded and tried to calm down, “I’m fine Gob. Just finishing up my little chat here.”

“You sure, Boss,” Gob asked, “Because it sounded like-“

“Gob, you fucking idiot,” Moriarty spat out, “I’m not paying you to question me. I’m paying you to run the counter. A job so easy a trained radroach could do it! So get back to your post or beat it down to the Underworld where all the other freaks live!”

You stayed quiet for a moment until you could hear Gob fiddling with the radio that sat atop the counter. When you were certain no one was about to bust in and break up your party, you looked down at Moriarty and held the gun against his forehead.

“Listen now, listen close,” you spoke calmly, “You are now working for us. We will give you the product, and you will distribute it- not Gob, not Nova- you. You will be our runner, and you will use your connections to sell to everyone this side of The Glowing Sea; if not, I’ll be more than happy to put you down right here, right now.”

Moriarty’s beady eyes searched around the room as if to find something that would help him out of the situation. Finally, he looked back at you with a grim expression and nodded.

You stood up and dropped the gun to your side, but kept your finger on the trigger just in case. Moriarty picked himself up on the floor. The look on his face reminded you of a child who had just been reprimanded and you had to stifle a laugh.

“Ya know,” Moriarty said as he sat down in his chair wiping sweat off his brow, “I should’ve killed ya when I had the chance.”

You smirked, “Where are you gonna push our supplies?”

“Right to it, then? Well, you were right earlier, I do have a lot of contacts. I could get in touch with Fury from Goodneighbor- a place with hardly any law would be easy to sell chems and guns. Although-“

“We know,” You piped in, “Goodneighbor’s been distributing for us for a year now. What else?”

Moriarty raised his eyebrows, “You took Goodneighbor? One of Romanoff’s biggest clients? And you’re still alive? Impressive.”

“What else,” You repeated.

“There are some settlements up near the Commonwealth-“

“Diamond City,” Bucky interrupted.

You and Moriarty both looked at him. Diamond City was a fortified settlement in the heart of the Commonwealth. The mayor of Diamond City, Tony Stark, kept the settlement on almost permanent lockdown with his synth security patrolling the streets outside the city to keep Raiders and other vermin out. It was known that Stark dealt solely with The Red Ledger, buying chems and weapons from Natasha Romanoff and her impressive hoard of Raiders.

“Diamond City,” Moriarty asked, “Barnes that would be suicide and you know it. You’ve already escaped with your lives once having taken over Goodneighbor. There’s no way Romanoff would let Diamond City go without a fight.”

“It’s what makes sense,” Bucky replied, “If we can get Diamond City, the rest of the Commonwealth will purchase and sell from us.”

“Bucky,” you said cautiously, “I hate to say it, but Collin’s right, it’s too risky. We already have a bullseye on our back, are you sure you want to make it a bigger target? Not even the Brotherhood messes with Natasha.”

“Natasha may send a few mercs after us, but she’s a businesswoman at heart. She’ll understand it’s nothing personal, just business.”

“Listen, Barnes,” Moriarty said, “Even if I wanted to get into Diamond City, I couldn’t. Stark’s got his robot army on patrol 24/7 on both sides of the wall. And he’s even created more as hired security for safe travel to Tenpenny Tower and back.”

“Hires security to Tenpenny,” you asked.

“He remodeled the Tenpenny to be a vacation destination for the wealthiest in Diamond City. Stark even had some of the games from his casino out in New Vegas moved up there. The whole joints ran by synths, if ya can believe it.”

“Knowing Stark, I can,” you replied.

“Then you can also believe that Stark runs an ammo and weapons shop out of the basement of Tenpenny. And then there’s the Dream Factory, an entire floor of Tenpenny where the high rollers can get high. Guess who’s the supplier for both the Factory and the gun shop? And then there’s the Doctor.”

“Doctor?”

“Some med head who’s been on Stark AND Natasha’s payroll for some time. He makes the chems and makes sure none of the clients overdose on their fun.”

“Natasha’s chemist works out of Tenpenny,” You asked, “That’s a pretty long leash.”

“Yeah,” Moriarty agreed, “But this Doctor, not even Natasha would dare go up against. Some say he’s some kind of mutated Super Mutant.”

“A mutated...mutant,” you said, “What the hell are you talking about?”

“I’m just telling you what I’ve been told. Apparently he can change between being like one of us and being a Mutie. And from the stories, he’s more on the Behemoth side when it comes to strength.”

You looked over at Bucky who had been quiet the whole time. He had his arms crossed with his head propped up on his metal arm; it was making a whirring noise as he clenched and unclenched his hand. He was in deep thought, which usually meant bad news for you.

“What are you thinking,” you asked already having an idea of what he was about to say.

Bucky straightened up and rolled his shoulders back, “We’ll take Tenpenny, too.”


	7. The Argument

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You try one last time to change Bucky’s mind.

The walk back to Vault 101 was a quiet one. You had just spent the last 45 minutes trying to convince Bucky that taking Diamond City and Tenpenny Tower was a dangerous move; especially when your entire team added up to two. In the end, Bucky was undeterred, and the two of you ended up in a scream off that only ended when Nova came through the door saying you were scaring off customers. Two fingers down or not, an empty bar was something Moriarty didn’t take kindly to, and he promptly kicked you and Bucky out.

You and Bucky walked side by side through the deserted corridors of the vault, the air around you seemed hot and thick and almost suffocating. The dress you wore had somehow gained one hundred pounds in the last twenty minutes and you were dying to take it off.

“You hurt,” Bucky asked gruffly as the two of you stopped outside of the diner compartment.

“Nah,” you replied, “I’m fine.”

Bucky nodded but didn’t look at you, “Get some sleep. We start early tomorrow.”

Bucky took a step into the compartment and you let out a heavy sigh, leaning back against the hallway wall.

“If you’ve got something to say, say it now,” Bucky commanded.

“I think I said it all back at Moriarty’s, Barnes.”

“So,” Bucky asked.

“We can’t,” you replied, “There’s no way we can make this work. Maybe we can get Diamond City, with whatever connections Collin’s got, if Stark is willing to part ways with The Ledger, and that’s a big ‘if’. But Tenpenny is a death sentence and you know I’m right. Why all of a sudden are you wanting to go after the big fish?”

Bucky walked towards you, “Because it’s time. We’ve spent two years making ourselves known. We’ve taken over most settlements around here from Sanctuary to Arefu to the Glowing Sea. Almost every small business is selling for us, or purchasing from us, or both. This is the next step.”

“Yeah, but we were able to take over those settlements because we were careful. Except for Goodneighbor, we haven’t taken any big risks and it’s paid off. Sure we’re on the radar, we’ve got low level Raiders and mercs on our backs, but we haven’t become a big enough threat to warrant any big players trying to take us out.”

Bucky took another step towards you.

“Big players meaning Natasha and The Red Ledger,” You continued, “And not just them. The Brotherhood has been noticing us recently, we take out a major supplier, they’re going to be on us like a ghoul on Brahmin.”

Bucky shrugged, “The Brotherhood won’t interfere, they’ve taken up fighting The Good Fight against synths. They won’t care about a couple of mercs getting their hands on some larger turf. And if they do, then we’ll take care of them, too.”

You pressed your hands to your face, the sharp pain of a migraine itching it’s way into your head.

“Great, you wanna take on the Brotherhood of Steel, too. That’s great, really- smart idea. You do realize we’re only two people? We don’t have an army like the Brotherhood, or a gang like Natasha, or whatever the hell Stark has; we are two people and you want us to try to take out- what- everyone? They have more people, they have more guns, they have more ammunition. I mean honestly, what are you thinking? Have you lost your damn mind?”

The sound of crunching metal next to your right ear made you look up from your hands. Bucky stood inched away from you, his brown locks almost grazing your face. He had sent his fist through the wall so close to your head that the only thing you saw out of your peripheral was shiny, cold metal. Instantly you lifted your head to try and match his gaze, but pressed yourself closer to the wall.

“You seem to have forgotten who’s running things around,” Bucky growled, “Let me remind you that it’s me. I’m your boss, I _own_ you. That means I come up with the plans, I decide where we go, and I decide who we talk to; and if I think a situation is too dangerous to go alone, then god dammit you will wait for backup. All you have to do is comply. I’m not asking for your permission, I’m not asking anything of you at all. I’m telling you ‘comply’.”

Your eyes darted from Bucky’s down to his boots. Clenching your jaw you gave a slight nod.

“Good,” Bucky said and took a step back from you, dragging his fist out of the wall. He turned and walked into the diner compartment, the automated door closing after him.

You pushed yourself off the wall to look at the perfect hole Bucky had left behind. Softly, you let your fingers slide over the bent in steel. A shaky breath you didn’t realize you had been holding escaped you; and for the first time since you had met him, you discovered you were terrified of Bucky Barnes.


	8. Moving Forward

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You and Moriarty are heading to Diamond City, and Bucky looks for recruits.

He wanted to apologize. He watched through one of the cut out windows of the diner as you touched the place where he punched the wall. He saw you recoil and wrap your arms around yourself. You looked so small in the garish light of the fluorescents, and- dammit- he wanted to apologize. 

Bucky’s anger had always been a problem. In the Brotherhood it wasn’t noticed often. A bunch of soldiers geared up in war machines carrying weapons no human being should have access to; his anger fit well amongst all the other soldiers who were fighting The Good Fight. 

After his unpleasant stay at President Eden’s house that cost him an arm, his memories, and a fair bit of sanity; Bucky’s anger became more noticeable. It was quiet, but always there just under the surface, even his best friend, Steve, started to shy away from him. Bucky felt out of place amongst his fellow soldiers. He once believed that what they did made a difference, but the things Eden planted in his brain left him guessing, confused about what was right and what was wrong.

After he deserted the Brotherhood he wandered around the Wastes, hoping to die mostly. He somehow ended up in New Vegas in The Tops casino on The Strip, where his anger reared it’s head again. The Chairmen who ran the casino didn’t like his metal arm, wouldn’t let him in and told him to go join The White Glove Society with all the other “freaks”.

Few boxes of ammunition later, Bucky found himself the new owner of one of the hottest casinos in New Vegas. That’s how it started. People would piss off Bucky Barnes, and he’d retaliate, and win. What was theirs became his. 

When he returned back to the east coast, he had amassed a small fortune, a few businesses and trade rings. After he introduced his gun to the vault dwellers of 101, he set out a plan to capture and torture President Eden; finally he might silence all the pain and anger. But then it came across the radio one day. Some kid, straight outta 101, got to Eden first. The anger that took over Bucky then made him black out for two days. 

Through the years, he had gotten himself better. Better at business, better at living, better at taking care of himself. But the anger, still under the surface, threatening to erupt any day.

That’s why he liked you. For all the shit you put him through, for all the shit he put you through- whenever you were around the pain was a little less, even tolerable. The anger subsided, and he found himself smiling more, laughing more. 

And then he had to go and fuck that up.

It started out earlier that night at the saloon- Bucky was going to kill Collin Moriarty. He wasn’t sure if it was because Moriarty had shot you the day before, or because he almost cost Bucky a valuable Scrub, or if it was the way Bucky saw your jaw clench when Moriarty had his hand up your dress; whatever the reason, Bucky was going to kill him. But you, sound and reason, stood in the way. 

He should’ve let the anger die there, but the quiet walk home only made it fester.

Bucky watched you standing in the hall and he wanted to apologize. Maybe wrap an arm around your shoulders, maybe be close enough again to see just how beautiful your eyes are, maybe....

_’Good help is hard to find.’_

Bucky straightened his shoulders and out in the hall he noticed you did the same. He watched as you walked stiffly out of view. Bucky turned out the lantern and slid inside a booth, and there in the cold damp dark of the diner, he began to plan.

———————————————————————

A week later, you stood on the outskirts of Springvale, tightening the laces on your boots. The day was chilly with big puffy dark clouds hanging heavily in the sky. The first snow of the season had fallen the night before, leaving every burnt out building dusted in white. Looking over the fields at the small piles of snow made you think back to way before the bombs ever fell. When you and your little brother would wake up early to find out if your school would be closed due to the weather. It rarely snowed in your part of Texas, so when it did, no one knew how to drive in the stuff. 

“You good,” a gruff voice asked behind you, shaking you from your thoughts.

You turned and saw Bucky standing, propped up against the Brahmin that held your wares. He was dressed in dark jeans a brown jacket, drinking coffee out of a chipped blue mug. He caught your smile and looked startled for a second before returning one of his own.

To say the previous week had been tense between you two would be an understatement. You didn’t talk unless he directly asked you a question, afraid to say something that would rile him up again. He would barely acknowledge your presence afraid if he did, he might scare you again. The whole thing reminded you of the your very first week with him in the Vault. Neither of you knew what to do with each other so you created this awkward dance of missed glances and silence.

“I’m good,” you say patting the Brahmin on the neck.

“Remember the plan,” Bucky asked his smile gone.

“Yes, sir,” you replied cooly. 

The sound of footsteps walking up caught your attention, but you heard Bucky’s sigh nonetheless. Moriarty, wrapped in a long green coat and snow shoes came striding over to you and Bucky. His head was wrapped in a black scarf and you could tell he had on at least three pairs of jeans.

“It’s not that cold,” you said zipping up your black jacket, “Grow up.”

“Fuck you,” Moriarty said through the scarf.

“How’s the hand,” Bucky asked.

Moriarty lifted his hand to show all five fingers back intact. 

“The doc in Megaton may be a bleedin’ heart, but he knows his stuff,” Moriarty replied, “Are we ready to start this shit show?”

“You remember the plan,” Bucky asked him.

Moriarty’s beady eyes, which were the only things you could see of his face due to the scarf, rolled in their sockets, “Yes, mother. We’ve only been over it a thousand times.”

You smirked. Maybe this trip wouldn’t be so bad after all. Moriarty was a little conniving shit, but he had a sense of humor. Plus, you needed some time away from Barnes and 101.

“Stick to the roads,” Bucky was saying, “Looks like another snow shower’s gonna hit. We’ll rendezvous in Goodneighbor after you make contact in Diamond City.”

You nodded, “When are you leaving for Goodneighbor?”

“Day’s time,” Bucky replied, “Need to deal with something first.”

“What is it?”

Bucky shook his head, “Doesn’t concern you, Scrub.”

You bit the inside of your cheek to keep from lashing out. Bucky stared at you as if daring you to speak up.

“Jeez, it’s a bit chilly out here, innit,” Moriarty said, “And I’m not talking about the damn weather. You ready, lass? I’m not looking to stay out here till Christmas.”

You turned your hood up and turned to walk down the hill. Over your shoulder you called out, “Try not to die, _sir_.”

Moriarty trailed after you with the Brahmin. He came up to you and elbowed you gently in the ribs, “Why don’t the two of you just strip down and shag? Save the passive aggressiveness for some other idiots?”

He cackled at his own joke and you rolled your eyes, walking slightly faster to get ahead of him. 

———————————————————————

Bucky sat at the bar of Moriarty’s saloon, milking a lukewarm whiskey. The joint was a lot livelier with the proprietor gone. Gob had the radio cranked up on full volume, a few games of poker had been set up, Nova was surrounded by an audience, and patrons kept coming in making the small place feel even smaller. The smell of cigarette smoke hung heavy in the air.

Out of the corner of his eye, Bucky saw a man sit down on a stool next to him. Bucky downed his drink and then motioned for Gob to bring him two more. Gob poured the amber liquid into two glasses and set them in front of Bucky. Turning in his stool, Bucky slid one over to the man next to him.

“Hey pal, you’re barking up the wrong tree. You lookin for a friend, you better go see Nova,” Jericho said eyeing the drink.

“I’m not looking for a friend,” Bucky answered, “I’m looking for a gun.”

Jericho stared at Bucky for a second before picking up the drink and slinging it back, “Let’s go outside.”

Outside, the clouds had gotten even thicker and darker. The first flurries had started to fall while they were in the bar. Jericho leaned against the railing and looked at Bucky, “What’s the score?”

“It’s big,” Bucky replied, “Multiple hits, lotta late nights and early mornings.”

“Ok,” Jericho said, “So what’s the score?”

Bucky leaned over the railing and took in the scene below. The Children Of Atom we’re huddled together near the bomb chanting praises. Jenny Stahl was chatting with a few customers. A couple of kids were playing tag. It always seemed funny to Bucky, how when winter came to the Wastes, more people seemed to emerge from their homes.

“Diamond City,” Bucky replied looking up at Jericho, “And Tenpenny. Maybe the Brotherhood if they come asking questions.”

Jericho let out a low whistle, “Who else besides us and your girl.”

“She’s not my girl.”

Jericho chuckled, “Ok, who else besides us and your ‘other associate’?”

“Moriarty,” Bucky said.

Jericho scoffed, “That’s it?”

“A few others we still have to talk to. A couple people in Arefu, some in Goodneighbor. It won’t be much, but it’ll be enough.”

Jericho nodded, “I know of a Raider hangout where exiles of Romanoff’s clan rest their heads. Maybe three or four, but they’re experienced and in need of caps, probably wouldn’t mind seeing The Ledger and Romanoff take a fall, either.”

Bucky watched as the kids chased each other through the mud pond surrounding the bomb, “Are you in?”

Jericho took a moment to answer, “Yeah, I’m in. I was wondering what was taking you so long to hire me.”

“You’re a loose canon,” Bucky muttered still watching the kids.

Jericho snorted, “That’s fuckin’ rich coming from you.”

Bucky stood up and rolled his shoulders back, “Yeah, maybe. We’re leaving for Arefu in an hour. Meet me in Springvale.”

“You got it, boss,” Jericho replied. He left Bucky standing outside the saloon and headed towards his shack.

Bucky looked up at the wintry sky. The flurries had given way to heavy snowflakes. He thought about you making your way to Diamond City in this weather. 

Bucky started to make his way out of Megaton. Somewhere in the back of his mind he hoped you were safe.


	9. Dark Tunnels and a Cold Welcome

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You and Moriarty make it to Diamond City. Now you have to convince a synth army to let you enter.

“Shit,” you muttered, “Shit.”

You pulled the reigns of the Brahmin further into the train tunnel with one hand, while your other hand was applying pressure to the wound on your stomach. 

When you wandered in here, you used the light from your Pip-Boy to maneuver around all the debris. Not too long you heard the faint growling of ghouls and had to cut off the light. Now you were stumbling around the darkness trying to keep your Brahmin from alerting anyone or anything. 

You and your party were just about to enter the Commonwealth when you came over a hill and stopped dead in your tracks. A Deathclaw was roaming the streets, it’s dark features standing out against the brilliant white snow. It was turned against you, though, so you and Moriarty worked to get the Brahmin turned around quickly but quietly. 

The Brahmin noticed the Deathclaw at the last second and became panicked, bucking Moriarty in the head. Moriarty collapsed instantly, rolling off the road downhill in the snow. The Deathclaw, alerted by the Brahmin’s mooing, turned and noticed you. Grabbing an assault rifle you laid several clips into the Deathclaw. You almost had it down when the Brahmin came up behind you and pushed you out of its way. You dropped the gun and fell forward. Frantically, you tried to find your gun when the Deathclaw was upon you. 

The rifle lost amid the snow, you pulled a pistol from your hip strap and began shooting the beast’s head. One sharp claw raked across your skin and you cried out in agony. On your back you kept shooting at the Deathclaw’s head until, with a guttural cry, the monster fell beside you. 

Looking down, you winced, as you saw your jacket and the sweater underneath in shreds, blood staining the fabric. You could see your backpack up the hill a little ways, having dropped it when you were trying to calm down the Brahmin. On wobbly legs, you made it to the pack and shuffled things around until you found a stimpack. You jammed the needle into your leg and felt the medicine grab at some of the pain.

The snow was falling down fast, making it near impossible to see anything. Making it back to what you hoped was the road, you scanned the other side to find Moriarty.

“Collin,” you yelled, the snow making your voice sound muffled and far away, “Collin!”

You could just make out a gloved fist rising out of the piles of snow a few feet down. You slid down the embankment and uncovered Moriarty. His scarf had unraveled and his head had a good size gash on the right side, but the cold of the snow seemed to have slowed the bleeding. You removed another stimpack from your bag and jammed it in his leg.

“Oh, you b-bitch,” he stammered. 

“You’ll thank me later,” you replied, “Can you stand?”

He gave a small nod and you helped him slowly to his feet.

“We need shelter,” you said glancing around, “It’s becoming night and this snow doesn’t look like it’s going to let up soon.”

Moriarty leaned against you as you made it back to the road. You scanned the horizon, you could make out the shadows of buildings from the Commonwealth not too far in the distance.

‘Trouble with that is if there are Raiders, or if this Deathclaw had a family,’ you thought, ‘Neither of us are ready for a fight.’

“Train,” Moriarty said pointing in front of you towards the left. A few hundred feet away was a bus stop bench, usually meaning a train station was within range. The two of you limped towards the bench and sure enough as you got closer, the train station showed up through the fog of the snow like the head of a prehistoric monster.

You helped Moriarty down the stairs and propped him up against a wall, “I have to go get the Brahmin.”

Moriarty nodded and wrapped his coat around him tighter.

At the top of the stairs you found the Brahmin trotting around a few feet from the train station. She seemed calmer than before, and when you stuck your hand out, she came to you easily enough. Getting her down the stairs was a spectacle, and if you had been in a better mood you might have had a laughing fit over the absurdness of it all. 

Once down the stairs, you lead the Brahmin over to Moriarty.

“Get on,” you commanded. 

Moriarty shook his head, “I’m fine.”

“You’re not, get on the Brahmin or I’ll shoot you,” you replied, “I’m not up for an argument, Collin.”

Moriarty stared daggers at you, but did as he was told. Once he was situated you entered the train tunnel.  
—————————————————————————

“Shit,” you muttered again, “We have to stop here.”

You lead the Brahmin to a side of the tunnel and tied the reigns to a pole that was sticking out of the wall. Moriarty slid off the Brahmin’s back, stumbled over something in the dark, and fell on his face.

“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” he cried.

“Shut up,” You hissed and felt around to help him up, “We got ghouls not too far from us, and I don’t know about you, but I’m not in the mood to meet them right now.”

“Come on,” you whispered, and lead Moriarty next to the Brahmin, “Take a seat, champ.”

Moriarty slid down the wall and you joined him, “Hold out your jacket.”

Moriarty undid the buttons on his coat and held it open. You turned on your Pip-Boy flashlight again, making sure you stayed within the range provided by the jacket. You rifled through your backpack again removing six stimpacks, a clean grey sweater, and some gauze.

“Here,” you said picking up three of the stimpacks, “Give me your head.”

“Just put it in the leg,” Moriarty whispered.

“It works better if you stick it where it’s injured.”

Moriarty let out an exasperated sigh, “Fine, just be easy.”

You rolled your eyes and stuck all three stimpacks into Moriarty’s head at once.  
He choked back a yelp at the pain and resided himself to a low moan instead.  
Unraveling some gauze, you wrapped his head a few times.

“There, good as new,” you said. 

You sat back on your knees and took off your jacket and sweater.

“Well ain’t you forward,” Moriarty smirked.

Ignoring the remark, you stuck yourself with the other three stimpacks, sighing at the instant relief. Taking a little gauze, you wrapped your wound, too, and then put on the clean sweater. You then pulled out two dusty yellow sleeping bags and tossed one to Moriarty. 

“I’ll take first watch, you get some sleep,” you said turning off your Pip-Boy light. 

Back in darkness, you heard Moriarty shuffle around and heard the soft sound of a zipper being pulled up. Not far from the entrance to the train station, you could hear the frigid wind whipping up outside. A gust of cold hair came from the direction of the entrance and you shuddered. 

Leaning your head against the brick wall, you closed your eyes. The first face to pop up in your mind was Bucky’s. His ocean blue eyes staring intensely into yours. You hoped he either left for Goodneighbor early, or decided to stay at 101 till the weather blew over. 

“You know,” Moriarty whispered in the dark, ripping you from your thoughts, “We could share this sleeping bag, dearie. Strip down, keep each other warm.”

“Fuck off, Collin,” you muttered.

Moriarty’s soft cackling filtered through the cold dark.  
—————————————————————————

You and Moriarty emerged from the train station in the early morning to a winter wonderland. The sun was beginning to rise, painting the clear sky in pinks and oranges against a crisp blue. Everything was covered in about three feet of snow, and it was deafeningly quiet, as if you and Moriarty were the only two people left alive.

The first rays of sun hit the snow and ice and made everything sparkle. It amazed you how it transformed the Wasteland. 

“It’s beautiful,” you admired.

Moriarty gave you a look of disgust, “It’s freezing.”

You smirked and shook your head, “Come on, you big baby.”

Traveling through the Commonwealth, you met a few packs of low level Raiders who were easily picked off. On one of them you found an assault rifle with an extended mag and decent scope. It didn’t exactly make up for the custom one you lost in battle with the Deathclaw, but it was better than trying to defend yourself with a pipe pistol.

All of the ammunition and chems you took from the Raiders had a big red star stamped on the side, the symbol of The Red Ledger. You had always thought Bucky’s business symbol, a big red smiley face, was a direct ‘fuck you’ to Natasha and The Red Ledger. You once teased that he treated his little Natasha feud as if he were a scorned lover and the look he gave you made you think you were about to eat a bullet.

“Just up ahead now,” Moriarty said, “Keep your guns holstered, the synths’ll shoot first, ask questions later.”

You rounded a corner and were met by a large baseball stadium; a sign in the middle of the square read “Diamond City” in white paint. Several guard stations were posted up around the square along with turrets, the buildings surrounding the stadium were also being patrolled. All the guard stations were being manned by synths- sleek, chrome looking creatures with the name STARK chiseled on their chest in small black lettering. Every synth was armed with the most advanced weaponry you had ever seen, and all of them marked with a big red star.

The sight tightened your stomach and that migraine itch was back. Moriarty noticed the look on your face and leaned in, “If you think this is bad, wait till you see Tenpenny.”

You sucked in a deep breath, “Let’s go.”

Leading the Brahmin to Diamond City’s entrance, you made sure your other hand was visible and took even measured steps. The feeling of a thousand eyes locked onto your every move was unnerving, but not unfamiliar. Years living in the pen of Paradise Falls made you used to being stared at like a zoo animal. 

“Remember,” Moriarty murmured, “Keep it brief.”

“Stop,” a synth approached you at the front steps that led to the gate, “What business do you have in Diamond City?”

You took a glance at Moriarty, “Traders from Rivet City.”

The synth guard cocked its head and studied you.

“Traders from Rivet City,” it’s mechanical voice repeated. There was a brief pause before the synth continued, “What are you trading, Traders from Rivet City?”

“Med supplies,” you answered.

Again, the synth cocked its head, as if considering you and your party, “Med supplies.”

You were suddenly aware that a large number of synths had gathered around you. A few of them were scanning the packs loaded onto your Brahmin. Your grip on the Brahmin’s reigns tightened as you focused your eyes on the synth in front of you.

After another pause, the synth held out its hand, “Traders from Rivet City, your papers?”

You slowly reached into your jacket and pulled out some documents Bucky forged a few nights ago. They were pristine, an exact match for Rivet City’s trading papers, but if one speck was wrong- one ‘I’ left unmarked- a synth would know.

The synth took the papers and held them a few inches below its eyes. Red lights shot forth from its pupils and scanned the papers; you heard a soft clicking sound coming from the synth and realized it was taking pictures of everything it was seeing.

The synth handed back the papers and then stood motionless. After a while, it straightened up, “Threat level: neutral. Traders from Rivet City, you have been granted a pass to Diamond City good for 24 hours. Please, follow me.”

You let out a shaky breath and followed the synth to two other synths standing by the stairs.

“Inspection: passed. Identities: verified. Threat level: neutral,” the synth said to the others, “Entrance allowed- standby.”

The synth turned to look back at you and Moriarty. Slowly, a hauntingly wide smile stretched onto its almost featureless face, “Traders from Rivet City, welcome to Diamond City!”


	10. Come Together

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You and Moriarty make it to Diamond City and meet up later with a few new friends.

_“I got two contacts in Diamond City who have some leverage when it comes to what’s being bought and what’s being sold,” Moriarty said._

_He, Bucky, and you sat in a booth in the diner compartment of Vault 101. It was a few days into the first week of planning, and while you still weren’t on board with the plan, you tried to listen and learn as much as you could in order to survive._

_“That’s a bloke who goes by Vision and a woman- Wanda Maximoff,” Moriarty continued looking at you, “And they’re pretty committed to each other so gettin’ all gussied up in a sequined number won’t help ya much, sweetheart.”_

_“Aw, shucks,” you retorted, “And I already went and shaved my legs.”_

_“How do they have leverage in the city,” Bucky asked._

_Moriarty thought for a moment, “Truth be told, I’m not all too sure. He was a synth of Stark’s who...took on a more human personality than expected? He thinks, he feels, he wants, he’s everything a synth shouldn’t be. Some say Stark was going to have him trashed like the rest of his failures, but someone convinced him not to.”_

_“Who,” you asked._

_Moriarty shrugged, “Your guess is as good as mine. What I do know is that he’s a big sonofabitch, and that makes people nervous. And he’s red, too- which makes people even more nervous. Not to mention he’s a synth, at least partly, which of course makes-“_

_“People nervous, yeah,” you answer._

_“What about the girl,” Bucky asked, “Synth?”_

_“All woman, Barnes,” Moriarty replied with a smirk, “Not half bad to look at, either. Would give this one a run for her money.”_

_You scoffed, “Thanks, pal.”_

_“She’s a psyker,” Moriarty explained, “Damn good one at that. People come from all over the Wastes to have her read their fortunes. If the rumor mill is true, and as we know in the Wastes it usually is, she was the one who gave Tony Stark the idea of Diamond City. He’s kept her close ever since. Stark pays close attention to her visions, gets readings once a week, follows their orders.”_

_“You know I always thought the whole psyker business was a huge scam,” you said, propping your feet up._

_Moriarty chuckled, “Well, you ain’t exactly wrong, dearie. While some people say it’s Wanda’s ‘divinity’ that makes them follow her visions, others say it’s the seven foot tall red synth who stands behind her during the readings and stares down the clients.”_

_“So, Tony’s getting played, and he knows he’s getting played, but he goes through with it?”_

_“She wasn’t wrong about Diamond City,” Bucky said._

_“It’s a goddamn stadium protected on all sides,” you replied incredulously, “What was there for her to ‘divine’? A half-baked Raider on jet would have come up with the same idea had he saw it first.”_

_“Well, whatever his reasons for going along with it,” Moriarty continued, “He really does value their input.”_

_“So what makes you think they’d go along with us,” Bucky asked, “If they’re the ones who suggested The Red Ledger in the first place.”_

_Moriarty leaned forward in the booth, “They didn’t have much of a choice when it came to The Ledger. Wanda had this brother, Pietro- kinda flighty, but a nice kid all the same. A bit of a junkie, but it wasn’t too serious. That is until Natasha learns that Wanda and Vision have Stark’s ear, so she has her crew start selling the kid her own special brand of jet. He became addicted, scatter-brained, psychotic- you’ve seen it, I’m sure you know how it works.”_

_“Wanda,” Moriarty continued, “Went to Natasha to beg her to stop selling to her brother. Natasha agreed in turn for a favor, of course. Next thing ya know Diamond City partners with The Red Ledger.”_

_“What happened to the kid,” Bucky asked._

_“No one knows,” Moriarty replied, “The jet made him deranged. He left Diamond City awhile back and hasn’t been seen since.”_

_“So Wanda will go for our plan because of what happened to Pietro,” you said, “And Vision will follow suit.”_

_“That should be the case, yeah.”_

_“If Stark agrees to switch to our products in Diamond City, why not just have him agree to it for Tenpenny as well,” you asked, “It would be quieter, less messy.”_

_“He won’t sign over Tenpenny,” Moriarty said, “That’s the real big fish. If Natasha gets cut out of that deal then Stark will have a war on his hands. One he will likely loose. She and the Doctor I mentioned both have stakes in that property. We’ll have to come up with something different.”_

_“After we meet in Goodneighbor we’ll head to Tenpenny,” Bucky said, “Stake it out, make a plan.”_

_Bucky glanced over at you. You shrugged, “Works for me.”_  
—————————————————————————-

“No,” Wanda said, crossing her arms as she stared down you and Moriarty.

You gritted your teeth and looked over at Moriarty who seemed dumbfounded at what he just heard, “S-sorry?”

You two sat in the dining room of Wanda and Vision’s home in Diamond City. It was a small space but not uncomfortable, even with Vision standing quietly behind Wanda staring holes into you. Wanda took a sip of her tea and set the cup back gently on the oak table.

“No,” she repeated herself, a slight accent filtering through her words, “Did you wake up on the wrong side of stupid, Collin? Natasha and her Ledger are not ones we should even consider going against. They’re too powerful.”

“Not if we take away their business,” Moriarty offered, “We take their business, they don’t make enough caps to pay their scavers to find the scrap they need to make bullets, weapons, whatever. And if we take down a large enough portion, i.e Diamond City, then it’ll push Natasha back into a relatively small circle. Her people become upset, they’re not seeing enough caps, maybe they come and work for us.”

Wanda scoffed and raised a perfectly sculpted eyebrow, “I think you underestimate The Ledger.”

“I think you underestimate us,” you replied. 

Wanda moved her gaze to you, her eyebrow still cocked, “Is that so?”

You shrugged, “We’ve already got most of the Wastes under our belts. Everyone and their mother are buying from us. We really wouldn’t have to take Diamond City, at the rate we’re going, we would bankrupt The Ledger in a year or so.”

Moriarty risked a glance in your direction.

“The only reason,” you continued, “We’re even coming for Diamond City is because it’s what the boss wants. And my boss...you wanna stay on his good side. You can understand that, right? I mean, your boss- Stark- seems like the kind of guy you want to keep happy, especially with his specialized army out there.”

You motioned to a window looking out onto a busy street of Diamond City. A couple of synths had a citizen down on the ground with guns pointed at his head, while another went through his backpack. Wanda ran a hand through her hair as she watched.

“Here’s the thing,” you said, “Our army is gunning for The Ledger. Like I said, we have most of Wastes except for Diamond City and a few others. If we don’t take Diamond City now, then it will be the only thing Natasha has left. She’ll move her people in here, take over, turn it into a bunker instead of a city. Do you think Tony is going to give up his power to Natasha willingly? Because I don’t. And no matter how many synths Tony has, you can be sure Natasha has just as many, if not more, soldiers. Who would you rather live under?”

Wanda thought for a moment, softly rapping her fingers against the table, “How many people do you have?”

Moriarty started, “We-“

“Enough,” you interjected, “With more being recruited daily.”

Wanda nodded, “Viz, what are you thinking?”

Vision was still staring out the window at the synths dragging away the citizen kicking and screaming. He sighed, “I think she’s lying, although, she does have a point. Sooner or later Natasha will want all of Diamond City, not just it’s business.”

Wanda was quiet for a moment, you could tell her mind was going into overdrive. She shook her head softly, “It’s just to risky. I’m sorry.”

Now it was your turn to think. Wanda stood up from the table followed by Moriarty, but you stayed sat.

“You know,” you said softly, “Collin told me about your brother, about Pietro.”

Wanda winced as if your words physically hurt her. Vision turned away from the window to look at you. Moriarty stood behind you and rested his hands on the back of your chair.

“Same thing happened to my brother,” you said, “He was fourteen, hung out with the wrong crowd.”

“Was it The Red Ledger,” Wanda asked in a shaky breath.

You nodded, “Listen,” you said, “I would do anything to help my brother if he were still around, I know you would, too, for Pietro. I know you don’t know if Pietro is alive or not, but the people who supplied him are still around. And you have an opportunity to make it right.”

You reached across the table and held Wanda’s hand, “I know you’re afraid, but please, do this for brothers.”

A few minutes later, you and Moriarty left Wanda and Vision with their agreement to talk to Stark. As you walked down the street you stretched your arms out above your head and yawned. The sun was melting away a lot of the snow, but big grey clouds off in the distance promised the coming of more snow in the future.

“Good job, dearie,” Moriarty said striding beside you. His head was completely healed but for a small scar near his right temple, “You damn well knew your audience, didn’t you?”

You shrugged, “What is it you like to say? Bleedin’ hearts and all that.”

“I’m just glad they fell for it,” Moriarty replied clapping you on the back, “Now let’s go find us a drink to celebrate.”

Moriarty took off down the street towards the Dugout Inn. You tried to keep up, but your steps faltered, the weight of the last few days taking a toll on you. You felt eyes on your back and you turned to find Vision standing a few feet from you. Although the street was crowded, you noticed people gave him a wide berth, practically stepping over each other so they wouldn’t have to walk close to him. 

“Are you following me,” you asked walking up to him.

He nodded, “It’s something I do. Wanda hates it, too.”

“Can’t blame her,” you replied, “What’s up, creep?”

“The story of your brother,” he responded, “It was true, wasn’t it?”

You looked down and kicked at a rock, “Yeah. But it happened a long time ago. Before the bombs dropped and the world went to hell. But she needed something to push her to make the decision. You said it yourself that I had a point about The Ledger taking over the city.”

Vision watched you for a minute before nodding, “We meet with Stark tomorrow for his weekly reading. That’s when we’ll tell him about you and your products. He should go along fine with it, he usually does.”

You nodded, “We’ll be in town long enough for him to sign the papers, but then we gotta get going.”

“More recruits that need your attention,” Vision asked.

You smiled, “Something like that. See you around, creep.”

“And you,” he replied.

You turned and continued your trek to the Dugout Inn. All the way you could feel Vision’s eyes watching you.  
—————————————————————————

The next day you and Moriarty were waiting by the lift to Stark’s office. After a drunken night, Moriarty was reduced to sitting on a bench with his head between his knees dry heaving. 

“What a lightweight,” you were teasing him, “We drank the same amount and I’m fine.”

Moriarty groaned, “Has anyone told you your voice is especially grating in the early morning?”

You laughed, “Want me to go grab you a noodle bowl from that food stand?”

Moriarty dry heaved again, “Oh...please let me die. And take her with me.”

You laughed again as the lift cane rambling down. Wanda and Vision stood inside looking particularly pleased. The lift landed and Wanda came bounding out handing the documents you gave her yesterday back to you.

“Signed and sealed,” she said, “You are now the sole supplier of weapons, ammunitions, and chems for Diamond City.”

You smiled looking at the signature of Tony Stark in sharp black ink. On one of documents underneath his signature, a note was written:

_‘I want it to be known that this agreement is for Diamond City only. Tenpenny will still be supplied by Natasha Romanoff and The Red Ledger. Don’t get any ideas, they’re all bad. Tell Bucky I said hi. Is he still the ball of sunshine I remember?  
-T.S’_

“Well,” you said, “That’s something. Our Brahmin is loaded with some of our product, we can stock up some of the stores and take out The Ledger’s. You gave Stark our delivery schedule?”

Wanda nodded, “And actually I wanted to talk to you about that. There are two men from The Red Ledger who come once every other week to supply the shops and count the caps. Both are wanting to leave The Ledger- they’re underlings, they barely make enough caps to afford a room at the Dugout. One of them has a sick kid, they’re not sure what it is but the medication is expensive. Maybe, if you were to offer them employment at a higher rate...that would mean more recruits for you plus faster delivery of supplies.”

You nodded smiling, “That’s not a bad idea at all. We could always use the bodies. Whadya think, old man?”

Moriarty let out a groan and flipped you off, “Someone...please...kill me.”

“What’s wrong with him,” Wanda asked.

“Oh, where to begin,” you answered, “When are the guys from The Ledger supposed to be stopping by next?”

“Sometime today,” Vision said, “Close to sundown.”

You hummed, “We have to meet our boss in Goodneighbor. From there we’re supposed to travel to check on another settlement.”

“He doesn’t look fit for travel,” Wanda said pointing at Moriarty who had curled up in the fetal position underneath the bench. 

You sighed, “Of all the people in the Wasteland I had to get stuck with....Would you guys mind keeping an eye on the old man for me? That way he can be here to talk to the traders, convince them to join. Hopefully, he’ll be sober by then.”

“You want one of us to go with you to Goodneighbor,” Vision asked. 

You shook your head, “Nah. It’ll be better if I go alone. At least this time.”

You walked over to where Moriarty was cowering under the bench, “Grandpa, these nice people are gonna take care of you now.”

“Oh, fuck off, you,” he groaned.

—————————————————————————

The walk to Goodneighbor was pretty uneventful, it was nice to have some quiet time with your thoughts. During the previous night’s celebration, drunk Moriarty tried to convince you to give Bucky a chance.

_“He’s a psychotic asshole, you’re a slightly less irritating psychotic asshole- you were made for each other,” he slurred swaying on his feet._

_You smirked, “You’re drunk, moron.”_

_“You’re the moron,” he responded peering sadly into his empty glass, “Barnes likes you, he’s just too big of an idiot to admit it. And you like him but you’re too big of an idiot...to....Well you’re just an idiot.”_

_“Thanks, pal,” you replied, “Hey, don’t feel bad if I decide not to take love advice form a man who’s three sheets to the wind and who hasn’t had any company for the past two decades except for his hand.”_

_Moriarty stares stupidly down into his glass before raising his head and looking at you, “I shoulda killed ya when I had the chance.”_

_You laughed, “Yeah, probably.”_

You laughed to yourself about the idea of you and Bucky as you rounded the corner to Goodneighbor’s entrance.

Once inside Goodneighbor you noticed Bucky talking to a cluster of people including Jericho from Megaton. At the sight of Bucky you couldn’t help a wide grin spreading on your face. His long hair was pushed off his face and he was dressed in his black tactical gear. You wondered how you never noticed how good he looked. He turned at your approaching footsteps and his bright blue eyes fell on yours. Their intensity made your stomach flip and you had to bite down a giggle that almost escaped.

“You’re late,” Bucky said gruffly giving you an ugly look.

At once, all the air came out of you and you dropped your grin to mirror the one he was giving you, “I’m here now.”

“Where’s Moriarty, dead?”

“He stayed behind,” you explained, “His contacts mentioned a couple of traders from The Ledger looking to switch sides.”

“Did Stark sign the papers?”

You fished the documents out of pocket and handed them to Bucky. He started walking away rifling through them. Jericho came up beside you chuckling softly, “Not much of a welcome, huh?”

“He roped you into this shit fest, too,” you asked cocking an eyebrow.

“Yeah, it’s been a long time since I left the comfort of Megaton. Thought it might be time to get my hands dirty again.”

“Recruits,” you asked nodding to the group of people talking amongst themselves a few feet away.

“Exiles from The Ledger,” Jericho explained, “Looking to settle a score.”

There were four of them, two guys and two girls. All of them looked worn out and tired as if they haven’t seen a good night’s rest in about ten years. If they deserted or were exiled, you could understand the weariness. They must’ve been looking over their shoulders for a long time, worried about the day Natasha sent a team after them.

“Alright,” Bucky called walking back to join you and Jericho. The exiles finished their conversation and joined, too. 

“We got Diamond City for the moment, we’ll see how long it takes The Ledger to find out. Next we got Tenpenny. We’re gonna have to come up with a plan on how to take it. It won’t take long before The Ledger is on us and they’ll start watching their other assets closely. Our groups from Arefu, Andale, Girdershade, and Big Town are on their way to a meeting point at Fort Independence. Jericho, I want you and the exiles to head to the Fort. We have one more associate coming from Diamond City that may have some news for us. Everybody understand the plan?”

A few nods here and there was all Bucky needed as proof, “Head our, we’ll see you in a few days.”

Jericho and the others started making their way out of Goodneighbor leaving only you and Bucky. You watched the others file out of the gate half hoping to be going with them. 

“Are you hurt,” Bucky asked surprising you out of your thoughts. You looked at him and noticed he was staring at your shredded jacket.

“I’m fine,” you replied, “Met a Deathclaw who wasn’t on our side.”

Bucky’s eyes were full of worry as he liked you up and down, “You look like shit, Scrub.”

You smirked, shifting your backpack and walking closer to him, “Cool it, Barnes, people will say we’re in love.”

“Where are you going,” he called after you as you walked away.

“It’s been a long trip, boss,” you called back, “I’m hittin’ the showers. Wanna join me?”

You turned around and raised an eyebrow. He stood motionless looking at you dumbly. He opened his mouth to say something only to close it again. 

You laughed, “Suit yourself, Barnes. See you in thirty.”

You left Bucky standing in the street as you made your way to Hotel Rexford.

_'He is an idiot,’_ you thought.


	11. Easy Marks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You see an old friend. You and Bucky make a discovery.

Hotel Rexford was once an opulent locale for local celebrities and government officials. It had over 200 rooms, a staff of 67, a rooftop pool, and an underground casino. When the bombs hit, the fallout took most of the building. And with time, the place had decayed into your average flea motel. Remnants of what the Rexford used to be could still be seen in the lobby’s massive crystal chandelier to the intricate designs of the gold crown molding.

You stepped into the shower, cool water hitting your skin making the chilly room feel even colder. A thought kept floating up at the back of your mind, never strong enough to fully form, but enough to make you feel on edge. You thought it had to do with the plan that lay ahead- a big stupid plan with too many players and too many risks- and you pressed your palms to your eyes to try to keep the anxiety from taking over. Bucky seemed so sure of everything and most of the time you’d go along with him, but something just didn’t feel right this time.

You rested your head against the cold tile of the shower wall and let the water beat on your back. Images flashed behind your closed eyes- the day the bombs fell, Wanda and Vision, the vault in Texas, Bucky, Paradise Falls, Tenpenny, Moriarty, death. And above all, that half-formed hazy thought that you couldn’t understand why it made you shiver. You made a fist with your right hand and struck at the wall lightly. 

'Too much noise,' you thought, 'Too much noise everyone. My brain’s been canceled. You don’t have to go home but you sure as hell gotta get the hell outta here. See you tomorrow- same time, same place.'

You turned off the water with a heavy sigh and stepped out of the shower. You realized the reason you were shivering was probably less to do with some stray thought and more to do with the entire room being freezing. 

“Room service,” You said as you wrapped a towel around you and throwing on a posh accent, “Yes, can you please send up your fastest attendant to turn on the heat? Better yet, dear, send the Manager- I have some ideas on this wallpaper. I’m not sure if he’s heard, but 'stained' is out.”

“I think you’re about 200 years too late, doll,” a voice said from the doorway to your room.

You stiffened and whipped around pointing a pistol at the intruder. Barbara stood halfway in the room, her small frame draped in a pink satin robe. Her red curly hair had been swept up from her face which looked a little gaunt as if she hadn’t had a decent meal in a few weeks.

“B-Barbara,” You whimpered, tears stinging your eyes at the sight of your old friend.

Barbara grinned taking another step into the room. Then she cocked her head and looked at you curiously, “Where’d you have that gun?”

“Don’t worry about it,” you said gaining control over your emotions. You dropped the gun and walked over to Barbara wrapping her in a tight hug, “How are you here? I thought you were out West.”

“Some trouble went down in New Vegas,” Barbara explained as the two of you took a seat on the edge of the bed, “Some lunatic cult called Caesar’s Legion made a bad deal with some guy named Loki and his people. They’re tearing the Strip apart with their feud, so Fury pulled his staff until the NCR gains control of the situation.”

“How are you,” you asked, “How have you been? You look hungry, are you hungry? I’ve got some Cram in my bag if want some.”

You stood up to fetch your bag, but Barbara brought you back down with a laugh.

“Still playing mother hen I see,” she said with a smile, “I’m fine. Vegas was a little more...fast paced than Goodneighbor. I’m still trying to find my feet.”

You looked into her eyes and noticed her pupils were dilated and her whole body seemed to be vibrating slightly, “Y’know it might be easier finding your feet if you had your head, Barb.”

She looked at you and smiled sadly, “What can I say? Life just looks better on jet.”

“Have you seen Otis at all,” she asked playing with a thread from the mattress.

You shook your head, “You’re the first from the pen I’ve seen. I have heard he’s moved up the ranks in The Red Ledger. Damn near made himself indispensable to Natasha.”

“I always knew he’d do good,” Barbara said, “You, too. You and Barnes have almost everyone out West buyin’ from your supply lines. The Silver Rush alone has been making a killing, especially with that feud going on. And The Tops is the only casino still functioning right now. It’s as if Caesar and this Loki guy don’t wanna tangle with it.”

“Ah, well,” you replied, “Mr. Barnes’ reputation does often precede him.”

“Your’s, too, darling- that is, if half the rumors I’ve heard about you are true- and I’m inclined to believe they are.”

“You shouldn’t believe everything you hear, especially in the Wastes,” you said rolling your eyes. 

“That’s exactly why I do believe them. Who out in the Wastes has any reason to lie?”

You and Barbara sat smiling at each other until Bucky walked in briskly, “Where the fuck is Moriarty, Scrub? He should’ve been here by now.”

You sighed, “Kind of in the middle of something here, Barnes. I’m sure he’s on his way, just chill out. There’s a lot of snow on the ground, it could be hindering his route.”

“Moriarty,” Barbara asked, “Colin Moriarty? Wow, I haven’t heard that name in a while.”

“How do you know him,” you asked.

“He came into Gomorrah a lot, big spender, bigger mouth. I remember him saying he was from out this way. How is he?”

“Miserable,” you said.

“Insufferable,” Bucky said.

Barbara laughed, “Nice to hear he hasn’t changed. Why are you looking for him?”

“He’s helping us,” you explained, “We took Diamond City’s supply lines from The Ledger. Colin helped us with the deal. He stayed behind in the City to meet with some of Natasha’s agents who might want to join our cause.”

“Wow,” Barbara said, “How did you get Tony Stark to turn on Natasha? I mean, if you wanna talk about preceding reputations- everyone out West knows about Natasha and is scared shitless of her.”

“Moriarty had some contacts in Diamond City. A psyker named Wanda and her boyfriend. They convinced Stark to turn.”

Barbara gave you a funny look, “Wanda Maximoff?”

You nodded, “Yeah, you heard of her?”

Barbara’s eyes went from you to Bucky who had moved to stand next to you and was staring daggers at Barbara. 

“Well,” Barbara started, “It’s like you said, you can’t trust everything you hear out in the Wastes. But, some members of The Red Ledger came into Gomorrah a while back. I remember because they were all a bit too handsy for my taste. They were celebrating something. But that girl- Maximoff- she was there with them, celebrating, so was that synth she hangs out with. She even set up a booth on one of the floors and held palm readings.”

“What,” Bucky asked incredulously.

You shook your head, “Nah, that couldn’t have been Wanda. She said she hates The Ledger and Natasha. Especially after what happened to her brother-“

“Pietro,” Barbara asked.

“How do you know him,” you said an uneasy feeling twisting your stomach in a knot. 

“Pietro was there that night with Wanda and The Red of The Red Ledger. He’s basically Natasha’s right hand man. She even set him up with his own army of Raiders. Why? What did Wanda say about him?”

That half formed thought sprang forth in your mind and hit you like a ton of bricks.

It had all been too easy.

“Mother.. _fucker_ ,” you groaned, “He played us.”

“How,” Bucky asked switching his gaze to you.

You shrugged, “He must’ve sent word to Natasha after we took over his bar. He had no intention of delivering an agreement to Stark. His story about Wanda being able to convince him was bullshit, just like those documents in your hand.”

You gestured to the Diamond City agreement Bucky had crumpled between his metal fingers, “Fucker faked a hangover to, so he could stay behind-“

“-With our Brahmin full of product,” Bucky interrupted, “Which he probably handed off to the men from The Ledger.”

The room was quiet as you and Bucky stewed in your separate emotions. Barbara watched the two of you carefully, a worried look on her face. A sudden thought hit you.

“Bucky,” you said shakily, “Fort Independence.”

Bucky turned and looked at you.

“Moriarty knew about the plan to meet up at Fort Independence. And he more than likely told Natasha. Jericho and the others could be headed for an ambush.”

Bucky nodded, “Get dressed. We got work to do.”

He walked out of the room quietly closing the door behind him. Once it was closed you sprang up off the bed and over to your bag. You rifled through it till you found some clean clothes.

“Sorry, Barb,” you said as you dropped your towel and began getting dressed.

“Nothin’ I ain’t seen before,” Barbara replied lazily looking up at the ceiling, “What do you think you’re gonna do?”

“I don’t know,” you said tugging a black sweater over your head, “But by the look in Barnes’ eyes, it’s gonna involve a lot of bullets and a lot of blood.”

Barbara stood up and walked over to where you were stuffing your feet in some combat boots, “Do me a favor?”

“Of course,” you replied.

“If you come toe to toe with Otis, you won’t bloody him up too bad?”

You thought for a moment, “I promise I’ll give him first swing.”

Barbara smiled and wrapped you in a hug, “Be careful.”

You pulled away and grinned, “Always.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Let me know what you think!


	12. New Plan

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You and Bucky make a plan to go after the others. You tell Bucky more about yourself.

Bucky was already outside of Goodneighbor by the time you caught up to him. The snow had stopped but the sky stayed menacingly dark and grey.

“What are we gonna do,” you huffed next to Bucky as you slowed your pace to match his.

“I’m gonna kill that little maggot.”

“Not if I get to him first,” you said, “Man, he played me good. Acting drunk, acting hurt- I wonder if the Deathclaw was part of his plan, too.”

“ _Deathclaw_ ,” Bucky stopped dead in his tracks and looked at you.

You waved your hand, “Nah, it’s nothing.”

You tried walking again and Bucky grabbed your arm, “Were you hurt?”

You shrugged, “Moriarty got the worst of it. Which now, it looks like it would’ve been a better situation to let him die, but y’know, ‘hindsight’ and all that.”

Bucky continued to stare you with a worried expression. You stepped closer to him and laid a hand on his arm, “I’m fine, Buck. Minuteman’s honor. You don’t have to look so spooked.”

Bucky shook his head and sighed. He looked over your head at a patch of dead grass, “I don’t much care for the idea of something happening to you, Scrub.”

You bit your lip and smiled, “Nothing happened to me, Bucky. Nothing is going to happen to me.”

“I should’ve been there, I’m responsible for you.”

You scoffed, “No, you’re not. I’m a big tough girl. I survived Vault-Tec, Drax the Destroyer, and Eulogy Jones and his bullshit. You don’t have to worry about me.”

“Well I wouldn’t,” Bucky said finally looking at you, “If you would stop trying to die on me.”

“Tryin’ ain’t the same as succeeding, ha ha,” you replied pushing his shoulder.

Bucky rolled his eyes, “Freak.”

“Don’t worry, Barnes,” you said, “You’re gonna be stuck with me for the rest of your days.”

Bucky reached up and pushed a strand of hair away from your face. The gesture made your breath hitch and it was then you realized how close you were standing to each other. His fingers traced a lazy pattern from your temple to your jawline, “I don’t mind that.”

Your face grew hot but you managed a smile which Bucky returned. You were trying to mentally will Bucky or yourself to make a move. Instead, you took a small step back and let out a shaky breath, “So, what’s the plan?”

Bucky still had a small smile, but his eyes were serious, “I’d say we pay a visit to Diamond City, distribute payback, but Jericho and the others have about a three hour lead on us. It might be possible to catch up to them.”

You doubted this, and by the sound of Bucky’s voice he doubted it, too, “It’s a big Wasteland out there, Bucky. We don’t even know which route they took.”

Bucky nodded, “I told Jericho to be as discreet as possible. Just in case they were followed. I imagine he wouldn’t risk taking that many people underground, so the tunnels are out. It’s getting close to dark, but I don’t think that would stop them from moving.”

“You wanna split up,” you offered, “I’ll take Diamond City while you track the others?”

“Oh, no,” Bucky replied, “You’re not gonna have all the fun.” Besides, Moriarty’s probably booked it outta there. Wanda and Vision, too. We might not be able to catch up to the others, but at least we won’t be too far behind once they reach Fort Independence. Maybe we can catch them before Natasha pulls any of her bullshit.”

You nodded and the two of you started walking again. The already dark sky became darker by the second as night fell over the Commonwealth. 

“So, Jericho, huh,” you asked.

“He’s a good shot and a better follower,” Bucky replied.

“He’s also crazy as hell, Buck.”

Bucky glanced at you and smirked, “So are we, doll.”

“I admit, my time in The Pen may have cost me a few marbles,” you said, “My 200 year nap didn’t help, either.”

“I never asked what you did before you were put on ice,” Bucky said as you walked past the old HalluciGen Inc. building, “You didn’t learn how to fight after you left the Vault. That had to have already been in you.”

You grinned, “I was a hairstylist.”

“Bullshit,” Bucky laughed looking at you.

You nodded, “I was a hairstylist with a bad temper and a lot of extra time on my hands. The local police department offered defense training for civilians; this was right around the time China was talking about invading the US. So, I took some courses. And then I decided to learn how to shoot- which turns out I liked, a lot. It kind of snowballed from there. I started reading books on military tactics and fight maneuvers. I even read one called _“Negotiating in War”_. I don’t know, it became a hobby I guess.”

“Most people collect stamps, or pre-War coins,” Bucky said.

You laughed, “Hey, there was a war going on. People were paranoid- even more so then than now, if you can believe it. It became all about protecting yourself, your family, and what you owned.”

“You think anything’s changed,” Bucky asked.

You shook your head, “Not really. Except for the desperation. There was a lot of paranoia back then, but people were still friendly, ya know? They weren’t always trying to cheat you, or hurt you, or kill you. The Wasteland is a very desperate place.”

“What about your family?”

“What about them,” you asked stepping over the body of a Raider who looked like had met his death from a feral dog.

“I imagine they weren’t with you in the Vault. You were the only one from Texas in Paradise Falls.”

You shrugged, “My parents fell out way before the war. My little brother, too. I have an older sister, but we never got along much. I tried calling her the day the bombs fell, to see if she was safe, but I never got through. You got any family Barnes?”

He scoffed, “No, not for a long time. The Brotherhood was my family- for a while anyway.”

You looked up at him, “Do you miss it?”

Bucky smiled, “Not enough to go back.”

He groaned as snow flurries started swirling around, “Have I told you how much I hate winter? This’ll make it harder to find the others.”

“We should be ok,” you said cheerfully, “Just a few flurries, not like it’s a blizzard or anything.”

At your statement, thick bundles of snow flakes started to fall hindering your sight. The wind picked up sending icy breezes that tore through your jacket and sweater. You tightened the strings around your hood and crossed your arms.

“Ya know,” Bucky called over the wind, “You should learn to shut your mouth sometimes, Scrub.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!


	13. Sanctuary

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You and Bucky hole up during a storm.

You and Bucky were able to make it a while more in the snowstorm. By the time you reached Hardware Town, the storm had become so bad, you could barely see two feet in front of you. Bucky shoved the door to the shop a few times with his shoulder, the accumulated snow tried to refuse entrance. He finally got a hole big enough to fit his metal arm through, and with a jerk movement the door folded in half allowing a space just large enough for you two to pass through.

Once inside, you and Bucky moved a couple of metal shelves to prop against the opening as a way to try to keep out the snow. You took a step back and sighed. Your hands were frozen, you kept flexing them to keep the blood flowing.

“You ok,” Bucky asked. He had ice flakes in his hair and beard and his nose and tops of his ears were chapped red. You figured you must’ve looked equally rough.

“Of course,” you breathed, “You?”

Bucky nodded, “Let’s get to the back. Last time I passed through here I left a small crate with a few supplies.”

Bucky led you down a hallway and into a small office. The bodies of a raider and a synth were in the middle of the floor; the raider propped up against a wall leaned over a yellow crate. Bucky moved the corpse and checked the crate while you pulled the dead synth out of the room.

“She didn’t take much,” Bucky said over his shoulder, “All that’s really missing is a bottle of vodka and some potato crisps.”

You nodded as you went through the pockets on the raider. She looked young, couldn’t be more than twenty, you wondered how she ended up there, slumped over a box. You sighed as you pulled a few caps from one of her pockets and lighter from the other.

“Least she took down a synth before she went,” Bucky said as if reading your thoughts.

He moved past you and picked up the girl’s body. You set down your pack and started rifling through it until you found two sleeping bags. There was a mattress in questionable condition beside the box. You unrolled both sleeping bags on top of the mattress.

“You wanna eat something,” Bucky asked as he came back from the hall.

“No,” you replied, “I think I’m good. Too cold to eat.”

You pulled another sweater out of your pack and layered it over the one you already had on. Then you got into your sleeping bag and pulled the fabric around you. Your fingers and toes were screaming with frostbite and you were worried about your allies.

“You think Jericho and the others are safe,” you said quietly.

Bucky sat on his sleeping bag with his back against the wall. He thought a moment before answering, “They moved out pretty early. Could’ve gotten in front of the storm. If not then they’re probably holed up like we are.”

You shook your head, “I shoulda seen through Moriarty’s bullshit. I always have before, what was different this time?”

“We thought we had him on the ropes,” Bucky replied, “Don’t beat yourself up, doll. I fell for it, too. All we can do is figure out what’s in front of us now. Try to get some sleep.”

“It’s too cold to sleep,” you muttered.

Bucky grunted an agreement then looked over at you with a cocked eyebrow, “I know how to warm you up.”

“Bucky Barnes, if you suggest I get naked, you’ll lose your other goddamn arm,” you hissed.

Bucky glanced at you as he rifled through his pack, “We’ll save that for later, doll. Just trust me. Get on top of your sleeping bag.”

You rolled your eyes but did as he said. Bucky pulled out a large thick blanket from his bag and draped it over the both of you. Then he slid his arm around you and pulled you into his side. The warmth radiating from Bucky felt like you were snuggled with a space heater and you hummed your satisfaction. You turned your body more towards Bucky and threw an arm over his stomach. Bucky chuckled softly, combing his fingers lazily through your hair.

“Thanks, Bucky,” you said sleepily.

“Anytime, doll,” Bucky replied.

He planted a tender kiss on the top of your head. You leaned up to look at him, taking in the blue of his eyes. You pushed yourself up slightly and kissed him softly, the warmth of his lips warming yours instantly. You broke away for a second before Bucky pulled you back in, pulling you closer and deepening the kiss. 

When you broke away the second time, Bucky rested his forehead against yours.

“Try to sleep,” he whispered.

You nodded and laid your head on his chest. The sound of the howling wind outside lulling you to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!!


	14. Stir Crazy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You and Bucky are still stuck during the storm. You share stories and try not to kill each other.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: This chapter has smut towards the end. So if you’re not the smut reading type, you may want to skip. Thank you for reading!

“How much time do you think we’ve lost,” you asked standing behind Bucky.

“Hard to tell,” he replied as he moved the shelf over to get a peek outside the store, “A day, maybe? Day and a half?”

As soon as Bucky moved the shelf a blast of cold air and snow flew in and made you shiver. The snowstorm was still raging, from what you could see, which was very little, at least four feet of snow had accumulated already. Bucky moved the shelf back.

“We’re gonna be here for a while longer,” he said.

You ran your fingers through your hair, “What a mess.”

“We’ll figure it out,” Bucky replied, “We always do.”

You followed him back to the office and sat at the table you had set up to work on modding your gun. Bucky set a Nuka Cola in front of you before he took a seat at the table, too. An old radio on a shelf was tuned to Diamond City radio and Cole Porter’s “Anything Goes” softly played throughout to the room.

“We’ll check it again in a few hours,” Bucky said, “It’s gotta stop sometime.”

You nodded, “Who knew winters after a nuclear war would be so volatile? Least it’s actual snow and not radiation filled like the rain.”

“I’ll take radiation rain over a blizzard any day of the week,” Bucky said taking a swig from his Nuka-Cola.

You rolled your eyes.

“I’m going stir-crazy, Scrub,” Bucky cries as he ran his fingers through his hair, “I think that raider’s corpse is starting to whisper things to me.”

“Bucky, it’s not even been a full two days.”

“What are you doing,” he watched as you attached a scope to your assault rifle.

You looked at Bucky, annoyance written across your face, “Being productive. Which is more than I can say for you.”

“I organized the crate,” he defended.

“My apologies,” you said sarcastically.

“Were you married before the bomb?”

The question surprised you, so much that you dropped the screwdriver you were holding and it clattered to the floor.

“W-what,” you stammered.

“Well,” Bucky continued, “You said your parents were gone, and one of your siblings. The other one you didn’t speak to much. But you must’ve had someone right? I mean, you’re not terrible looking-“

“Gee, thanks.”

“-When you put in the effort. And I’m sure your personality was a lot better before-“

“I will shoot you where you sit-“

“So, who was it? Husband? Boyfriend?”

You laughed, “Does it really matter, Bucky? They’re long gone now.”

“You can’t know that for sure. Come on,I know you’ve got history.”

“What about you, Barnes,” you countered, “And Natasha. I know there’s history there.”

Bucky shook his head, but a smirk played on his lips. You leaned forward, “Oh, come on. You’re trying hard to drive her business into the ground, Buck. And screw that ‘just business’ crap, that’s personal. This whole plan of yours is personal. Why?”

Bucky watched you for a moment, “I’ll tell you if you tell me.”

When you didn’t say anything Bucky sighed, “After I abandoned the Brotherhood, I wandered around pretty aimlessly. I ended up joining the Gunners for awhile. It was different work, darker work, and I was good at it. Besides, it gave me a bed to sleep in, and, it’s how I met Natasha.”

You laid down your weapon and focused your attention on Bucky.

“We were put on missions together. I was a good shot and she had the charisma I lacked. After awhile, yeah, we became more friendly than not. She was just starting the Ledger, she had a small faction already in place and she had moves to take some of the Gunners, too Gunners, with her- me included. I worked with her, devised a plan to move some of the Gunners resources and people without ‘corporate’ becoming suspicious.”

“What happened,” you asked.

“We got set up. She told the wrong person who went and blabbed to the wrong people. They showed up to our hideout while I was out scavenging. Natasha told them it was all my idea, that I had threatened her to go along with it.”

“Natasha doesn’t seem like one who takes orders from anyone else,” you said.

“She’s not,” Bucky replied, “But like I said, she’s very charismatic. She had them eating out of her hand. So, they sent some big hitters to find me and help me see the error of my ways. They beat the shit out of me- tried to anyways. Once the initial shock of what was happening wore off, I was able to settle the argument with a few bullets. I went back to find Natasha but she had already made tracks out of there; and the Gunners marked me for death, so I left the east coast and headed west. You know the rest. Later on, Nat told me it was just business, ya know, survival. And I can understand that. But....”

You nodded slowly. You had never seen Bucky look vulnerable, he kept his head down so that his hair hung in his face creating a curtain between you two. 

“You loved her,” you said quietly, “I get it.”

Bucky looked at you with a steady gaze, “I’m pretty stupid, huh?”

You smirked, “Maybe, just around the edges.”

Bucky scoffed, “Well that’s my sad sack of a story. What’s yours, Scrub?”

You sighed, “There was a guy, but we had broken up some time before the bombs dropped. His name was Keith-“

“Keith?”

“Yeah, Keith.”

Bucky made a face, “Gross.”

“Anyway,” you continued, “I told you I was a hairstylist. Keith worked in the office across the street from the salon. He did accounting for various law firms.”

“Wow,” Bucky muttered.

“What?”

He shrugged and took another drink, “Nah, it’s nothing.”

You stared at him pointedly with an eyebrow raised. Bucky held up his hands, “Ok... it just seems to me that maybe getting locked in a freezer for 200 years was a good thing for you. I mean otherwise you’d be saddled with an accountant named Keith. And, ya know, dead.”

“Hey,” you said laughing, “So he wasn’t the leader of a group of psychopaths, or a gun runner with a penchant for helping other people to oblivion. But he was a nice guy.”

“You don’t seem like the type of girl who likes ‘nice’ guys.”

“Well, at one point I did.”

“What went wrong? If you tell me he’s the one who broke things off, I’ll put a bullet in ya, Scrub.”

“No,” you said smiling, “He took a position in California- pre-war California. Some big wig job at some big wig company. Asked me to move out there with him, but it just didn’t feel right.”

Bucky raised his eyebrows, “Thank god you dodged that bullet.”

You kicked at Bucky’s leg.   
“What do you want for dinner, Scrub,” he said as he stood up and crossed to the yellow crate, “We got some razorgrain and water- we can make some noodles.”

Bucky stood up from the crate, ingredients in hand and turned around to find you standing behind him. You took the bottled water out of his hands and turned it over a few times.

“You’re a nice guy,” you said.

“What,” Bucky asked.

“Earlier you said you didn’t peg me as the type of girl who likes nice guys,” you replied, “I like you. You’re a nice guy. Ya know, for the most part.”

“Keep that to yourself, I got a reputation to maintain.”

You smiled and walked over to Bucky laying your hands on his chest, “Secret’s safe with me.”

You lifted up and kissed Bucky sweet and slow. He wrapped his arms around your waist and brought you in closer, deepening the kiss. You carded your fingers through his hair giving his roots a soft tug. Bucky moaned into your mouth and let his hands roam your body. He slid them over your breasts, thumbs circling your nipples over your shirt. He moved his hands lower, over your stomach and then your ass squeezing hard. You broke the kiss to plant some along Bucky’s jawline following up his ear and nipping at the lobe. 

Bucky moved his hands to the hem of your shirt and pulled it off you. He pushed you back gently to lay on bed. His head dipped into the crook of your neck and he started to kiss and bite the skin. You moaned softly running your hands down his chest. 

He moved further down your body leaving a trail of kisses. Bucky took a nipple in his mouth sucking and gently biting the sensitive bud while he fondled your other breast. You brought him back up for a searing kiss as his fingers tried to undo your jeans. You fumbled with his, too, but you both managed to succeed in getting the other undressed.

Bucky sat back on his knees, his eyes roaming all over your body. You bit your lip as you took in his impressive form; his muscles, his curves, his intense gaze- it was almost too much and the dull ache between your legs became more urgent the longer he stared at you. 

“Fuck, baby,” Bucky breathed his hands ghosting softly over your hot skin. You whimpered at his light touch and opened your legs a little farther. 

Bucky grasped your hips and pulled you down closer to him. He pumped his shaft a few times before he pressed his tip at your entrance. The anticipation made you squirm and whimper. Leaving his cock lined up with you, Bucky bent over you and stared into your eyes; his lips barley touched your own.

Your breath hitched when you noticed Bucky’s pupils were blown with lust and a low moan left your throat. Bucky chuckled darkly.

“What is it, baby girl,” he whispered, “What do you want?”

You whimpered in reply, your head too fuzzy to form words.

“Ah, come on,” Bucky said, “You’ve never been shy before. Tell me, baby. Tell me what you want.”

You pushed against Bucky trying to get some friction.

“Please,” you managed, “Please, Bucky.”

You ran your hands all over his body, tugging on his hair again, scratching your nails down his back.

“Please what, doll?”

“Fuck me,” you breathed.

Bucky caught your lips in a deep kiss while guiding his cock into you. You moaned at the sensation your nerves firing off all around you. Bucky allowed you a moment to get used to the feeling before moving agonizingly slow. He wrapped his metal arm around the back of your head and used his other hand to graze your nipples.

“Please, Bucky,” you whimpered holding onto his back, “I need more.”

Bucky obliged, rolling his hips faster. You rose your hips to meet him until you worked out a rhythm. Bucky’s cock hit all the right spots and you felt that familiar heat in your stomach start to pool. 

“Oh fuck,” you breathed clenching your legs around Bucky’s waist and your nails in his back.

Bucky grunted softly in your ear and it sent shivers down your spine and made you shudder. Your orgasm was close and Bucky could sense it; he started snapping his hips into you. You moaned uncontrollably as the sensation brought you over the edge. Your orgasm hit with force, you raised up and bit Bucky hard on the shoulder. The bite made Bucky growl low as he reached his own orgasm and pulled your hair.

Coming down from your high, you hummed as you lazily ran your hands up and down Bucky’s back. He kissed you tenderly, moving to cup your face in his hands. He stopped and looked at you intently for a moment.

“Not bad for a 200 year old woman,” he smirked.

“I hate you.”


	15. Ambushed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jericho and the recruits make it to Fort Independence.

Jericho was crouched behind some rocks on a ridge of a mountain. Fort Independence laid below, the sprawling fortress a mass of grey and rust. Jericho motioned for a recruit to hand him some binoculars.

“You think Barnes got caught up by that storm,” Sid, the recruit, asked. He fumbled around in his bag before producing the binoculars and handing them over to Jericho.

“Most likely,” Jericho answered holding up the binoculars to his face, “Poor bastard. He told me some Brotherhood of Steel outcasts have taken up shelter here, though. Said they’d be willing to join us, give us a place to stay while we wait. Should be safe.”

Sid looked down, eyeing the fortress. From their position only the fences and main structure could be seen, although he could make out a fire burning near the door.

“Then what are we waiting for,” he asked looking at Jericho.

Jericho was silent for a moment taking in the scene before him. 

“Blood,” he said.

“What?”

“There’s blood out front. Some more in the yard- at least a few bodies worth. No movement on any floor, no one in the watch towers. Looks like we’ve stumbled across a massacre.”

“What do we do,” whispered another recruit, Thamani.

“We don’t panic,” Jericho replied handing the binoculars back to Sid.

Jericho saw Thamani‘s eyes grow big before he heard the soft click and felt the muzzle of the gun against his head.

“Oh,” a woman’s voice said, “Where’s the fun in that?”

The sound of more loaded guns surrounded the small group. A man walked from behind Jericho pointing a gun at the recruits.

“Weapons down, now,” he ordered. The recruits looked over at Jericho who nodded slightly. They followed orders, dropping their guns to the ground.

“Up against the rocks,” the man commanded, “Straight line, no funny business. Any of you try to be brave, you all get a bullet.”

“Otis,” the woman behind Jericho said with a click of her tongue, “So grumpy. Anyone ever tell you you catch more flies with honey?”

“We ain’t flies,” Sid remarked.

“No,” Otis said, “Flies are smarter than the lot of you morons.”

“Let’s join your friends,” the woman behind Jericho said pressing the gun harder against his head.

Jericho moved to the right sitting beside Sid. Once settled the woman dropped her aim at him and gave him a smirk.

“Jericho,” she said. 

“Natasha,” Jericho replied with a sigh.

“Miss me?”

“You gonna shoot me if I tell you the truth?”

Natasha chuckled, “Where’s Barnes and his...associate?”

“That jealousy I hear, Nat,” Jericho mocked, “Thought you had it in for the poor son of a bitch.”

“I didn’t, until I received word of this little scheme. Now he’s as good as dead. His girl, too.”

Jericho noticed Otis grimaced at Natasha’s statement.

“Think the storm further east got to them before you could,” Jericho responded, “Should’ve been here by now.”

Natasha smirked and crouched to meet Jericho eye to eye, “We both know a little snow couldn’t kill those radroaches. Nah, they’re holed up somewhere. Won’t they be surprised when they finally make it here, though.”

“You kill the outcasts?”

“We had a disagreement,” Otis said, “We won.”

“And now,” Jericho asked looking down the line at his recruits, “What’s the plan?”

Natasha stood up, “Who’s up for a little road trip?”

Otis and some other Raiders of the Ledger forced Jericho and the recruits off the ground and put them in shackles. 

“This way,” a Raider instructed leading the group down the mountain. The other Raiders followed while Natasha held Otis back.

“I need to know you’re with me, Otis,” she said.

Otis shrugged, “Haven’t I proved myself?”

“Yes, but you haven’t had to kill any of your friends yet. I need to know when the time comes, that you’re going to be able to put a bullet in (Y/N)’s pretty little head. Because I promise, Barnes has instructed her to do the same to you.”

“We were friendly in The Pen- that kind of environment tends to push people together, but things have changed for both of us. It’s been two years, almost three. Any loyalty between us has ended. I’m with The Ledger, Natasha. I’m with you.”

Natasha walked over to Otis and cupped his face in her hands.

“That’s great to hear,” she said lowly, “‘Cuz I’d hate to have to slit your fucking throat. But I will. If needed.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading!


	16. A Walk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You and Bucky are finally able to make it out of Hardware Town.

A few days later the snow had finally come to a stop and you and Bucky emerged from your hideaway. You were happy to be out of Hardware Town- being locked up with Bucky was a blessing and a curse. On one hand, he made up for you having 200 years of forced celibacy, on the other- he was an annoying little shit in tight quarters.

The blizzard had completely transformed the Wastes. Everything was covered in blankets of snow making all the fallout look almost beautiful. The rivers and lakes were covered in thick sheets of ice, and the Wasteland’s native humongous bugs were absent. Walking through the towns was different, too. Before the storm, there was quiet throughout every town and settlement. The buildings would creak sometimes, or you would hear a feral ghoul or gunfire in the distance. But the storm seemed to have canceled out all noise. The quiet now was almost deafening, you were afraid to break it.

“We’ll have to go slow,” Bucky said lowly, “The snow’s too deep in some parts to rush through it.”

There was so much snow on the ground it came up to just below your waist and felt as if you were wading through quicksand- frozen icy quicksand. You clenched your teeth to stop them from chattering.

“Let’s try to make it a block,” Bucky said, “Then we’ll rest, build up a fire. Follow my path, it might be easier for you.”

You nodded and stayed behind Bucky following the path he was creating. His hand reached behind him for you to grab. 

You slapped it away, “I can walk on my own, Barnes.”

Bucky shot back his metal hand and gripped the front of your jacket pulling you along behind him.

“Quit fighting me, Scrub, or I’ll bury you under ice,” he warned.  
—————————————————————————

You and Bucky had been traveling on and off for a few days- only stopping when absolutely necessary to try to make up for lost time. As you travelled further south you noticed the snow didn’t grab hold of the ground as it did near the coast. By the time you reached Natick Police Department, the ground was clear and you were able to move faster.

“No sign of ‘em,” you said as you walked through a quiet street, “They must’ve made it out before the storm.”

“Maybe. Although, that snow was plenty deep. Deep enough to hide a group of frozen corpses.”

You looked at Bucky, “Thanks for that, pal.”

“Anytime, friend.”

“So what’s the plan?”

Bucky looked at you quizzically.

“We make it to the Fort and they’re not there,” you explain, “Or, we make it to the Fort, meet up with everyone, then what? Pretty good assumption that Natasha knows what we were planning; and Moriarty, Wanda, and Vision are still running around. Tenpenny isn’t gonna fall, and apparently The Ledger has more support than we initially thought.”

“We’ll figure it out,” Bucky replied, “We always do.”

You shook your head, “You keep saying that, Barnes, I’m not so sure. We should’ve come up with something while we were stuck in Hardware Town.”

“Sorry, my mind was elsewhere,” Bucky said lowly looking you up and down.

“Ok, we know what you were thinking about for five minutes, but what about the rest of the time?”

Bucky stopped walking and gawked at you,” Five minutes? Five minutes, Scrub?”

You smiled and kept walking. Bucky shook his head and walked to catch up with you, moving around a rusted out semi truck. 

“You know, I gotta knife that would love to meet your throat,” he said.

“I bet.”

Up ahead some gun fire sounded accompanied by the growl of an animal.

“Yao Guai,” Bucky said.

“Deathclaw,” you replied drawing your assault rifle, “Fifty caps?”

Bucky nodded and drew his own rifle, “Lead the way, Doll.”

You and Bucky raced towards the gunfire. The side street you were on led out to a wider road next to a forest. Through the trees you could make out a few people at the top of a hill, shooting at some big animal.

“It’s a Deathclaw, it’s a Deathclaw,” you cried running towards the trees.

“Yao Guai,” Bucky called after you in a bored tone.

You reached the top of the hill just in time to see a stunted Yao Guai mauling an old man. Another man was trying to grab the mauled man’s arms to pull him away from the beast, while the woman was firing at the animal with a pipe pistol. You sighed heavily before you raised your rifle and fired twice into the Yao Guai’s head. The beast slumped over with one final growl.

“Thank you for your help,” the woman said.

You waved your hand, “It’s no problem. Sorry about your friend.”

The woman and man nodded towards you. The woman took off her jacket and laid it over the face of the face of her dead friend. Bucky came up to stand next to you and stared down at the dead Yao Guai. He whistled low before speaking, “I believe that’s fifty caps, Scrub.”

You sighed again before aiming your gun at the man and woman, “You heard the man. Fifty caps.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading.


	17. Discovery

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You and Bucky finally make it to Fort Independence and make a startling discovery.

“Shit,” Bucky muttered as he looked through the binoculars, “ _Shit_.”

You sat with your back against a rock and rubbed your temples. Bright spots appeared before your eyes and the stab of a migraine whispered through your skull. 

You let out a low groan, “What do we do, Barnes?”

Bucky clucked his tongue a few times, “ _Shit_. How the hell....”

You looked over at him, “Did you honestly think this wouldn’t happen? That we would show up here and everything would be fine?”

Bucky dropped the binoculars and gave you an incredulous look, “Are you blaming me for the storm? How was I supposed to know a blizzard was gonna hit.”

You gestured down to the Fort, “I’m not talking about the blizzard, Barnes, I’m talking about this. You knew there was going to be retaliation, you can’t act like this is a surprise.”

“Hey,” Bucky snapped, “I found out about Moriarty the same time you did. I didn’t know the asshole was playing us, I didn’t know he was feeding Natasha our information. Did I expect retaliation? Sure. But not _this_. This isn’t on me.”

You shook your head and pressed the heels of your hands into your eyes, willing the headache to go away. 

“You don’t have any right to be mad, either,” Bucky continued, “You were on board with the plan-“

“No, I wasn’t,” you snapped back lifting your head from your hands, “I wasn’t on board with the plan, Bucky, I was very much _against_ the plan! I _told_ you it was stupid to mess with Natasha, I _told_ you we should stick to our own territory, I _told_ you it was a bad idea. But you and your goddamn ego couldn’t let it go. You had to get back at Natasha, and look, she has the upper hand again.”

Bucky looked as if he was going to throw you off the ridge of the mountain, and you almost wished he would. A hot pain washed over your head and you let out a weak moan while you dropped your head back into your hands.

Bucky leaned down and placed a hand gently on the back of your neck, “Are you ok?”

You pushed him away, “I’m _fine_ , Barnes. We need to make a plan- now.”

Bucky sighed and sat down next to you. You dug your heels into the ground as another wave of pain hit you.

“Drink some water,” Bucky muttered holding out a carton of aqua pura. 

“I’m not thirsty, Bucky,” you choked out.

Bucky sighed again, “ _Please_ , (Y/N), just _stop_ fighting me.”

You looked up at Bucky. He had never used your name before, always opting for the derogatory “Scrub”. At first it had drove you crazy, but after awhile you had just accepted it as you did the rest of your situation. As you stared at him you noticed how tired he looked- tired and broken; you carefully took the bottle of water from him, finger gently brushing against his. He looked over at you.

“What ever happens, Bucky,” you said lowly, “Whatever we do, what ever the outcome- I’m _not_ going back there. I can’t and I won’t.”

Bucky ran a hand through your hair before leaning down and pressing his lips to your forehead, “I know.”

You stared down at a postcard that had been left on the ridge, meant for you and Bucky to find. The picture on front was pink with teal lettering that spelled “Greetings from Paradise Falls!” On the back, a note had been scrawled in pretty script: 

“Wish you were here! -xo Nat”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the short chapter, thanks for reading!


End file.
